


Uber is Not a Getaway Car Service

by Sassy_assassin



Category: Borderlands, Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Murder, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Kidnapping, M/M, Murder, Rhys is an uber driver, fugitives from the law
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-09-06 14:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8756020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sassy_assassin/pseuds/Sassy_assassin
Summary: Rhys finally feels like he's on top. He's got a promotion all lined up, and a new car to go with his new position. Things are great, until he gets to work and finds out that someone else got the position instead. Now he's got a brand new car without the raise to pay it off, and needs extra cash fast. Fiona and Sasha introduce him to the idea of being an uber driver, which seems to be working out pretty well until one particular customer has him make an unexpected stop.





	1. Straight to the Middle

**Author's Note:**

> So this is probably the most plot-heavy story I've ever attempted to write, but I like how it turned out so far so hopefully you guys enjoy it too! No Jack really in this chapter yet, but he'll show up next chapter. A lot of the tags are for later chapters.

Things had been looking up for Rhys lately. He had, after years, finally secured a promise of a promotion from his boss, Henderson. The guy was terrible and honestly pretty incompetent, but all those years of ass-kissing had finally done it. Rhys was moving up in the world. ‘Straight to the middle’ is what Fiona had said, but Rhys had ignored her. He felt like he was finally on top. With promise of his new promotion, and the nice bump in income that came with it, Rhys had immediately purchased a brand new car. It wouldn’t serve to show up to his first day of work at his new position with a car that still screamed he was still some lower-level lackey. Image was everything at Hyperion, and if he showed any sign of weakness by showing up in his beat up car, he may as well turn in his resignation. Also, he  just wanted to rub his promotion in Vasquez’s face. That had been his first mistake. Well, second. His first mistake had been to think that one moved up the corporate ladder at Hyperion by honest means. Not that everything Rhys had done for that promotion had been honest, but at least they were closer to honest than most of his co-workers. 

Rhys was all set to go to his first day of his new job. He had his new car, a new suit, and a new outlook on life. It was his turn to be the one asking some poor sap to fetch his coffee instead of the other way around. As he pulled into his new reserved parking spot, another car came into view. It was the most ostentatious car he had ever seen, in what was supposed to be his parking spot. It was black, trimmed with a ridiculous amount of gold, and upon seeing the personalized license plate, Rhys narrowed his eyes in disgust. Vasquez. How dare he park in his spot. Just as he was internally (and externally) cursing Vasquez’s name, the man himself stepped out of the car and flashed Rhys a smug smile. As Vasquez approached Rhys’s car, he rolled the window down to tell the other man to get lost.

“What are you doing in my spot?” Rhys grit out, as Vasquez feigned surprise.

“Oh, didn’t you hear Rhys? Henderson had a little uh, accident,” Vasquez said, his voice devoid of any sympathy. Not that the guy probably deserved any, but Rhys at least had the decency to fake it. “Unfortunate. The doctors say he’ll probably never wake up. Fell off the balcony of his own house.” Vasquez paused before continuing. “Tragic,” he added in a tone which made it clear that he thought it anything but. 

Rhys’s eyes widened at the news. Not only was Henderson supposedly in an irreversible coma, but he was pretty sure Vasquez just admitted to attempted murder. “And since Henderson is out of commission, guess that means I’m your new boss Rhys.” Vasquez grinned.

“Wait, what!? No way, Henderson promised me that promotion!” Rhys yelled, only to draw back slightly in fear with the look that Vasquez gave him. Rhys found himself suddenly jerked towards the window of his car as Vasquez grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

“Henderson isn’t here anymore! I am! And I’m the boss now!” He shouted as Rhys winced from the volume. He dropped Rhys, who landed back on his seat with a thud. Vasquez smoothed his hair back, composing himself again. “I’d advise you to be careful to remember that. Because people who aren’t careful often get into accidents,” Vasquez stated, a threatening edge to his voice. He straightened up, looking at Rhys’s new car. “Oh, but uh nice car Rhys,” he chuckled, leaving Rhys in shock as he took in everything that had happened. 

 

***

 

“And then he basically admitted to trying to murder Henderson!” Rhys whispered angrily as he sat eating lunch with Vaughn and Yvette. Vaughn’s eyes went wide at the story, while Yvette just continued to eat her lunch.

“It’s not like doing whatever it takes to climb up the corporate ladder is uncommon around here,” she said through bites of her food (that somehow she had gotten out of having to pay for again). 

“But this is murder!” Vaughn replied, lowering his voice at the word murder in case someone was listening. 

“Attempted murder,” Yvette corrected him. 

“How can you be so calm about this!?” Rhys hissed. “The guy tried to kill Henderson, and then basically threatened to kill me if I got in his way.” 

“What do you think happened to Brett a few months ago?” Yvette asked them, raising one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows. “After that new tech his department was working on blew up during testing, his office was completely empty the next day. Nobody’s heard from him since Rhys.”

“Seriously?” Rhys asked, suddenly going pale. How did he not hear about this?

“All I’m saying, is be careful Rhys,” Yvette answered.

“Yeah! The guy is super dangerous. You have to be careful bro,” Vaughn responded, worry creeping into his voice.

“I just can’t believe that Assquez got my promotion! He wasn’t even competent at the job he had before!” Rhys angrily started yelling. Vaughn looked around nervously as Rhys’s voice continued to rise in volume, while Yvette said his name in warning. “I swear that guy is going to get what’s coming to him one day,” Rhys stated angrily, standing up to leave. Just as he stood up from the table a large commotion broke out. Rhys watched as a man was grabbed by two guards. He couldn’t quite see who it was, but the man was struggling against them quite violently. Rhys watched him actually punch one of the guards, only to be restrained by the other one. Then the room went silent as Tassiter, Hyperion’s CEO, stepped into the room following the small array of guards that were now surrounding the thrashing man.

“John, I’m very disappointed,” Tassiter said as the man tried to rush him, only to be roughly pulled back by the guards. 

“You stole my project you son of a bitch!” The man yelled while Tassiter simply gave him a cold smirk. 

“Show him out,” Tassiter ordered the guards while the man continued to swear and insult the CEO. Rhys watched the guards haul the man out, presumably to kick him out of the building. It wasn’t exactly uncommon for an employee to lose it and have to be escorted out (and really what did that say about Rhys wanting to work for Hyperion so desperately?), but it was uncommon for the CEO himself to personally see such matters through. Tassiter had even called the guy by name, so maybe it was someone higher up? Rhys dismissed the thought as the normal chatter returned to the area.

“What was up with that guy?” Vaughn asked, while Rhys shrugged in response. 

“I’ll see you guys later, yeah?” Rhys asked. Vaughn nodded, assuring him that he’d see him later no matter what, because after all they were roommates. Rhys shoved him playfully, and turned to his other friend. “Ok, what about you Yvette? Drinks tomorrow?” 

“Only if you boys are buying,” she smirked. Rhys rolled his eyes, but smiled at her. 

 

***

 

Rhys looked at the clock, noting it was the end of the work day finally. He had already texted Fiona and Sasha asking if they wanted to meet up later tomorrow with Vaughn, Yvette, and him. The conversation had turned into him complaining (whining according to Fiona) about his lack of money, which the sisters had agreed was mostly Rhys’s fault.

“Seriously Rhys, how dumb do you have to be to buy something with money you don’t actually have?” Fiona asked rhetorically, while Rhys glared at the message. He felt a little better after a second message saying, “But Vasquez is an ass.” Rhys quickly texted back that he knew it was dumb, and that they didn’t need to keep telling him. He raised an eyebrow at the next message that came through.

“You know, if you need extra cash though, Fi and I just started doing this uber driver thing. Kind of like a taxi, but you can do it with your own car and whenever you have free time.” Sasha’s text read. Rhys would be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued, but it seemed kind of risky. Letting a stranger into his car,  _ his brand new car? _ And honestly, some of the things Fiona and Sasha got up to could be considered slightly suspect, but after both the sisters assured him that everything was on the straight and narrow (and a quick echonet search revealed that the company was legit) Rhys considered trying it out. He figured what was the harm? Also, he really needed the extra income. Even if he could only drive for a few hours a day, it was better than nothing. Rhys sighed as he began to fill out the application. How had he gone from being so close to being head of the department, to being a hired driver? Had he made a stupid mistake to buy his car without actually having the money yet? Maybe, but Hyperion was all about image and he would have been torn apart if he hadn’t bought that new car. Or at least that’s what he kept telling himself as he filled out all the necessary information. He just hoped that he’d be able to make up the money he’d spent on the car.


	2. Hyperion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys picks up Jack, his last passenger of the day, and suddenly finds himself in a whole lot of trouble when Jack insists on being taken to Hyperion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting into some of the action and main plot. Also, pretty sure I'm on some kind of watchlist now for looking up how fast a car has to be to outrun the police. Thanks to my sister who pretty much gave me all the info about uber, since I've never actually taken one. I'm not sure if it differs in different areas, but I tried to make it fairly accurate and plausible.

It had been only two days before he was approved as a driver. Rhys was honestly surprised at how fast it was, and happy that he could start on the weekend, since it was Sunday. Rhys took a deep breath and activated the app on his phone, pleasantly surprised that he already had a request. He accepted it and began driving to the pick-up location.

At first Rhys had been worried about being stuck in the car with strangers for a long period of time, but most of his passengers had been fairly nice. Sasha had assured him that he was allowed to rate the passengers at the end of the ride, which usually helped keep the riders in check. After the first few rides, Rhys had become used to driving people around.

His first fair had gone well. She was an engineer and had introduced herself as Janey Springs, saying she had just moved to the area because of a new job. Her place was technically out of town, closer to the suburbs than the actual city itself, but she usually took the metro to work. She’d been running late though and had hired Rhys hoping it would be faster. Rhys had given her a couple of recommendations for dinner that she could take her girlfriend out to, and they had said good-bye when he had dropped her off at her destination. 

Rhys stretched as he watched the woman walk into the apartment building that she had told him she shared with her girlfriend. Almost immediately after dropping her off, his phone pinged to alert him to a new possible passenger. The next few rides had gone just as smoothly, and Rhys was starting to think that this wouldn’t be too bad after all. It was now evening, and he was ready to head home, when his phone alerted him to another possible rider. He had been planning on this being his last ride of the day, but looked at the passenger’s location, noticing that it was fairly close to him. Rhys sighed, clicking accept, knowing he couldn’t pass up such easy money. 

The rider was only a few blocks away, outside of one of the nearby shopping centers. Rhys drove into the parking lot, scanning the area for someone who looked like they were waiting for a ride. As he slowed down, a man looked up from his phone and approached the car. Rhys’s eyes widened slightly as he took in the other man. Whoever this guy was (he thinks the app said his name was Jack) he was handsome. Rhys continued to stare as the man approached, his mouth slightly agape as the man raised an eyebrow at him. 

“You gonna continue to stare cupcake or give me a ride?” Jack asked as Rhys tried to form words to answer him. Jack narrowed his eyes at him. “You are Rhys or Reeze or whatever right?” 

Rhys nodded and cleared his throat, inwardly cursing at himself for making this so awkward. “Yes, um you’re Jack?” he asked as Jack opened to car door to get in. Jack snorted at his question, not even bothering to answer, which caused Rhys’s enraptured expression to turn into a frown. The man was hot, but he didn’t need to be an asshole. Rhys just hoped that this trip would be quick and relatively painless. He’d seen the location and honestly was already regretting picking up a fair for such a long ride. It was all the way back across town, but there was surge pricing and Rhys couldn’t afford to pass it up. 

The man’s drop off point was the building right down the street to Hyperion’s headquarters, Helios. It was going to be almost a half hour for Rhys to drive there, but that meant more money for him. The man had been silent for the ride so far, but now Rhys could feel Jack’s piercing gaze on him. Rhys tried not to turn to look at him, not wanting to take his eyes off the road, but it felt like the man was boring holes into the side of his head. Why did Jack have to sit in the passenger seat? Most people sat in the back unless there were multiple people being picked up. Finally, Jack spoke up, now examining the car instead of Rhys. 

“Nice ride,” Jack commented as Rhys responded with a slightly caught off guard thanks. It was the first thing the man had said since getting into the car, and he hadn’t really expected Jack to try and talk to him at all. Not that Rhys was unhappy about the comment (it was a really nice car), though it did serve to remind him exactly how much money he had dropped on it. God, he owed so much money on this car.

“Hey kiddo, you in there?” Jack asked, bringing Rhys out of his thoughts. Shit, he couldn’t be spacing off like this when he was driving. 

“Oh, um what?” he asked, while Jack gave him an unimpressed look. 

“I asked how fast does this car go? I mean, sure it looks sleek, but does it have the power to back it up?” Jack repeated. Rhys turned towards the other man. Was he insulting his car? 

“This car can go from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds and has a top speed of almost 200 mph,” Rhys bragged. Sure he spent way too much money on this car, but he wasn’t about to just let some stranger badmouth it. Jack whistled at the description.

“I’m impressed. So why’d you become an uber driver with a car like this? I mean this thing looks like it cost a fortune,” Jack commented. “It doesn’t exactly look like you’d need the money, unless…” Jack trailed off as an embarrassed blush spread across Rhys’s cheeks. “Holy shit you did. You bought this car and now you’re broke.” Jack laughed as Rhys pressed his lips into a tight line. Rhys tried to ignore him, but the laughing began to grate on his nerves and he finally broke the silence.

“Yes, okay! I bought this car because I was supposed to get a promotion! And then that jackass put my boss in a coma and got promoted instead! So now here I am!” Rhys yelled, all of his frustration over his almost promotion coming out at once. Jack went silent at the outburst, studying the other man carefully. 

“Still can’t believe you spent all that money before you even had it. How stupid,” Jack laughed again while Rhys glared at the other man. He could not wait for this ride to be over. First, Fiona and Sasha make fun of him and now a complete stranger. He didn’t need to be told that he’d messed up. He knew. 

The Hyperion building loomed over the street as Rhys got closer. Jack’s stop had been some office building down the street, so he started to slow down until Jack stopped him.

“Just keep going, down to that corner.” Jack pointed to the small roundabout in front of Helios. Rhys gave him a look.

“Your stop said it was at this building,” Rhys protested but Jack just waved it away.

“Yeah, I put the wrong address in. Come on Rhysie, it’s right down the street,” Jack said sweetly, grinning at the other man. Rhys frowned at the new nickname, but sighed in defeat. Jack’s grin widened at the noise, knowing he’d won. “Oh and by the way, since it is literally right there, there’s no need for this to be on.” Jack reached towards the dash, snatching Rhys’s phone from the mounted holder. 

“Hey!” Rhys yelled, trying to grab the phone with one hand while still driving. Jack moved it out of the younger man’s reach and shut it off. 

“You’ll be thanking me later when your battery isn’t dead,” Jack replied, as Rhys turned to give him an incredulous look. Rhys eyed his phone in frustration, which Jack had placed next to himself on the seat just out of Rhys’s reach. 

“There, we’re here. You happy?” Rhys seethed, glaring at the other man. Jack just continued to grin as Rhys pulled the car in front of the Hyperion building. 

“Ok, I’ll be right back. Just forgot something inside,” Jack said, starting to get out of the car. Rhys called out in irritation, reaching for Jack to stop him. As soon as his hand touched Jack’s jacket, the other man whirled around in anger and surprise. He opened his mouth to yell at the younger man, but Rhys beat him to it.

“I’m not waiting here for you! I’m supposed to drop you off so I can go home and get some sleep while I think about how much money I spent on this ridiculous car!” Rhys yelled, anger overriding the fear that had appeared at the murderous expression on Jack’s face. Jack continued to glare at him, causing Rhys to swallow nervously, until the older man rolled his eyes.

“Fine, oh my god here.” Jack pulled out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet. Rhys gave him a curious look as Jack shoved the money into his hand. “Just stay here until I get back, it shouldn’t take too long,” Jack said as he began to walk into the building. Rhys angrily pocketed the money, grumbling about having to wait, but propped his feet up on the dash as he awaited Jack’s return. Rhys sighed as he thought about how his first day as an uber driver had almost gone smoothly. Before Jack, all of his riders had been amicable. Only Jack insisted on changing up the rules and being an ass. Rhys craned his head to look up at Helios, thinking about how if Jack was here to grab something that he must work here, which made him Rhys’s coworker. He pressed his mouth together tightly at the thought. Hyperion was just full of assholes wasn’t it?

Rhys fiddled with the radio as he waited for Jack. He figured the man had simply forgotten some papers that he had wanted to get an early start on or something, but after fifteen minutes Rhys was getting restless. How long did it take to grab something and get out? Rhys turned the car off, getting out of the car to walk towards the building. He still had his badge on him, so it was no problem to get into the building, the security pad outside the door beeping green as the door unlocked. Rhys walked into the lobby, feeling out of place in the normally bustling building. He had never been in on the weekend, and was surprised to find it so quiet. 

“Jack?” Rhys shouted, his voice sounding oddly loud as it echoed around the empty lobby. He didn’t know where the other man had went, and was wondering why he had even gotten out of the car in the first place. Rhys stepped farther in, towards the security desk and widened his eyes as he saw the destruction. There was glass everywhere from a broken mug, and papers were scattered across the ground. A security guard lay on the ground, blood coming from the guard’s head and Rhys quickly ran around the desk to get closer. 

“Shit, shit, shit,” Rhys muttered as he looked down at the guards. Was he dead? Rhys quickly scanned the man with his ECHO-eye, realizing that the guard was still breathing. He sighed in relief, trying to find something to stem the bleeding while he covered it with his hands. Rhys whirled around at the sound of footsteps, his anxiety getting to him as he thought of the person who did this, only to see Jack standing there. The older man looked surprised to see him, his eyes flicking between the downed guard and Rhys. He looked nervous, but quickly schooled his expression into a more neutral one. Rhys, on the other hand, was beginning to freak out. Had Jack done this? And if he had, what would he do to Rhys now that he’d caught him? 

“How the hell did you get in here?” Jack asked, surprise and anger evident in his tone. 

“I w-work here,” Rhys stuttered, his breathing starting to speed up as Jack stalked closer to him. Before Jack could do anything, alarms started blaring through the building.

“Shit,” Jack swore, grabbing Rhys’s arm. Rhys was too in shock to do anything at first, but began to struggle as Jack started to drag him towards the front of the building. “Look kiddo. You’ve got two choices. Either stay here and get caught or come with me until this mess gets sorted out,” Jack relayed as Rhys began to struggle more desperately. 

“I didn’t do anything!” Rhys yelled, still trying to escape. Damn, how strong was Jack? Jack snorted at his response.

“But it sure as hell doesn’t look that way cupcake. You’re a disgruntled employee who got passed over for a promotion who came back and destroyed company property, including knocking out a guard. I mean, look at you.” Jack pointed to Rhys, who looked down at himself. “You’ve got his blood all over you.”

Rhys paled at Jack’s words. The older man was right, this looked really bad. As if his day wasn’t shitty enough, now Rhys was going to be arrested for something he didn’t even do. Could this day get any worse? 

“What the hell is going on!?” An angry and painfully familiar voice yelled as it entered the building. Rhys closed his eyes and wished for the ground to swallow him then and there as Jack looked up at the newest intruder. 

“Are you kidding me?” Jack muttered, clearly annoyed at the new arrival, as Vasquez approached the pair. Vasquez gave a dark laugh as he recognized Rhys, who had opened his eyes again to glare at the other man. Vasquez’s eyes fell upon the unconscious security guard and he looked back up at Rhys.

“Oh this is rich. What, Rhys? Couldn’t accept that you weren’t good enough for that promotion so you decided to throw a little temper tantrum?” Vasquez said patronizingly. A gleeful smirk crossed his face. “Tassiter is going to have you locked up for this,” he added as Rhys’s eyes widened. He was so screwed. He watched as Vasquez pulled out his phone, for what Rhys wasn’t sure (maybe to call Tassiter?), but the next thing he knew, Vasquez was holding a very broken nose as he rolled around on the ground. Rhys looked toward Jack, whose hand was still curled up into a fist.

“You coming or not?” he growled as he began to quickly walk toward the exit. Rhys ran after him, knowing this was a bad idea, but knowing that it would be just as bad, or worse, if he stayed. 

“You’ll pay for this!” Vasquez yelled. He didn’t even have the time to appreciate Vasquez rolling around on the floor in pain, before he ran out the door.

“Keys!” Jack yelled as the two made it to the car. Rhys grabbed his keys from his pocket, trying not to drop them, and tossed them to Jack. The older man caught them in midair and jumped into the car, immediately starting it up. Rhys scrambled into the passenger seat as Jack hit the gas, still wondering what the hell just happened. 

Blue and red lights came up behind them and Rhys watched them, panicked. Why was this happening to him? He’d just been trying to make some extra cash to make up for a stupid mistake, how had he ended up getting caught up in whatever this was? He looked over to Jack, who had caught eye of the pursuing police vehicles in the rearview mirror. The older man looked furious, pressing down harder on the gas to outrun them. 

And why did Jack take him with him? What was Jack going to do with him? Was he some kind of hostage in case the police and/or Tassiter caught up to them? Rhys began to hyperventilate as his mind ran through all of the horrible scenarios that could occur, with most of them ending up dead due to the police or in a prison cell for the majority of his life. He tried to control his breathing as Jack threw him a slightly concerned look.

“You alright there Rhysie?” Jack asked, probably more worried about whether Rhys was going to throw up everywhere rather than being worried about his actual mental state. Rhys didn’t answer at first, trying to get a grip on what was happening, his eyes roaming the interior of the vehicle until they lit upon the blood covering Jack’s hands. For some reason, that was the last straw as Rhys felt rage boiling up within him.

“No Jack, I’m not alright! Because I’m being kidnapped by a psychopath who decided that messing with Hyperion was a good idea, the police are pursuing us, and you’re getting blood all over my new car!” Rhys yelled, too angry to care whether he might be pissing Jack off or not. Jack just threw him an exasperated look before turning his full attention back to the road while he weaved in and out of traffic.

“First off, I am not kidnapping you. You got into this car all on your own. Secondly, hate to point it out, but you’re also getting blood all over the car cupcake,” Jack replied, causing Rhys to look down at the blood that had been dripping off of his hands onto his seat. Jack correcting him only served to make him angrier however, and he shot back, “I only got in this car because I had no choice! And I wouldn’t be covered in blood if it wasn’t for you!” Rhys paused, taking a deep breath as he tried to hold back tears that were threatening to fall. “I d-didn’t want any of this,” Rhys whispered, more to himself than to the other man. Jack gave him a quick glance over as he spun the car down a narrow street, causing Rhys to grip onto the door handle. “Oh god, we’re going to get caught and then we’re going to go to jail. Oh my god, I can’t...I can’t go to jail,” he muttered, panic overtaking him again.

“Relax kiddo. As long as this car performs as well as you said, we’ll outrun these cops in no time,” Jack said, attempting to reassure the younger man. Rhys shot a glare at the other man.

“And when they call for backup?” Rhys asked, knowing that even if they could outrun the cops currently chasing them, they would simply call for more to pursue them. Jack rolled his eyes, but didn’t turn to Rhys as he addressed him.

“If we can outrun them fast enough, then we can ditch the car. They’ll have a harder time tracking us then,” Jack replied.

“ _ If!? _ ” Rhys yelled, his voice going up an octave in distress.

“ _ When  _ we outrun them,” Jack corrected sternly. Rhys was in between fuming and panicking. Jack’s cocky attitude did little to comfort him, but they did seem to be pulling away from the cops.

“Wait, we’re ditching my car!?” Rhys asked, suddenly processing what Jack had said. Jack gave him a look that read ‘are you fucking kidding me?’ and Rhys frowned. He knew he was pouting, and he knew why they would have to leave the car, but he didn’t want to accept it. If they stayed with the car they would be identified in seconds, even if they did outrun them. It was a pretty flashy car, which is why Rhys was having such a hard time accepting that they had to leave it. He’d spent so much money on it, and now even that was for nothing. He sighed and turned to Jack.

“Where are we going?” Rhys asked. Surely the other man knew that there was a chance that he was going to get caught doing whatever it was he had been doing, and had a back-up plan. Jack’s smile was tight as he gave a slightly nervous chuckle, and Rhys’s face morphed into one of horror.

“Oh my god! You don’t have a plan! Let me out of the car! I’ll get caught, tell them I had nothing to do with this!” Rhys yelled, trying the door handle right as Jack locked it.

“Sorry cupcake, can’t let you out now. That little pitstop would cost us way too much time,” Jack replied as Rhys sneered at him.

“You don’t even know where we’re going!” he shouted back. Jack looked like he was going to yell back, but then paused. 

“I do know where we’re going,” Jack grinned, taking the next turn sharply. Rhys wasn’t sure what the sudden change in plans meant (or more accurately the formulation of an actual plan), but he looked back to realize that the pursuing squad cars were almost gone. 

“Hopefully, she’ll still be willing to help me out,” Jack muttered, almost too quiet for Rhys to hear. Great, that was a real confidence booster. 


	3. Athena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Rhys are on the run from the cops, but luckily Jack knows someone that will help them out...maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too much action in this one as Jack and Rhys are mostly just trying to get some supplies and get to a safe place, but hopefully you guys enjoy it! And also Athena, because I love her!

Jack’s grin was slightly manic as he continued to pull farther from the cop cars and towards their new mysterious destination. “Hey pumpkin, dial the first number in my contacts.” Jack tossed his phone over to Rhys. Rhys scrolled through Jack’s phone, finding his contacts. The one that he was supposed to call didn’t have a picture or a name, it simply read ‘A’. Rhys squinted at it suspiciously, but their current situation didn’t quite merit much time for discretion. He dialed it and put it on speaker when Jack asked him to. The call went through as a woman’s voice answered.

“What?” The voice said, clearly annoyed. Rhys shot a nervous glance at Jack. This was the person who they were asking for help? She clearly wasn’t happy about Jack calling her. 

“Athena,” Jack said sweetly, his tone clearly an attempt to placate her. “I’m in a situation, and I could use a place to crash. Just for the night,” Jack clarified as the woman, Athena, scoffed.

“When are you not in a situation Jack?” Athena answered, and Rhys swore he could hear the scowl that was probably on her face. 

“We are so screwed,” Rhys whispered. The line on the other side went silent, and for a second Rhys (and from the looks of it Jack) thought that Athena had hung up.

“You have someone else with you?” Athena asked, surprise evident in her voice.

“Uh, kind of,” Jack replied. Athena stayed silent waiting for an explanation. “I hired him to drive me to Hyperion and he maybe got caught up in everything when things went south.”

“I’m an uber driver! I didn’t ask for any of this! Please-” Rhys flinched at Jack’s glare, but continued on- “we need your help.” 

The silence seemed to stretch on as both men waited to see if she would respond or simply hang up. “Ok,” Athena answered finally. Jack actually looked surprised, but grinned at the response. Athena gave them her address and Jack wasted no time in getting to it. By now they had lost the cops, but Rhys was sure that they were still on the lookout for them. 

“Alright kiddo, we’re walking from here. We've lost the cops for now, but I'd hurry.” Jack turned the engine off, unbuckling as he moved to get out of the car. Rhys moved to do the same, though much slower, despite what Jack had said. He wasn't happy about this situation, and he was going to let Jack know. By the time Rhys had exited the car, Jack was already rummaging around in the trunk. 

“Jesus Rhysie, don’t you have like an emergency bag or something in the back of the car?” Jack asked, moving the various junk that Rhys had thrown into his trunk.

“It's a new car Jack.” Rhys replied defensively, omitting the fact that he had never had an emergency bag prepared.

             Jack grabbed a spare water bottle that had been rolling around in Rhys's trunk, and began to pour it on his hands, rubbing them together. Rhys made a disgusted face at the bloody water that was splashing onto the ground, moving his shoes away from the offending liquid. Jack eyed him, throwing the water bottle at Rhys, which he clumsily caught. 

            “Chop chop kiddo,” Jack said as he watched Rhys awkwardly hold the water bottle. Rhys sighed and began to copy what Jack had been doing, attempting to get the majority of the blood off without getting it on his clothes. Jack had begun to rummage around in the trunk again and scoffed as he held up a collectible Bunkers and Badasses action figure that Rhys had forgotten he’d bought the day before.

“Oh, but you had time to put this in trunk?” Jack laughed, waving the figure around. 

“It’s limited edition,” Rhys muttered as he reached for it. He glared at Jack, thinking about how the man had just chastised him for not hurrying, yet apparently they had time to make fun of him. 

Jack backed away, shaking a finger at him. “Uh uh Rhysie. This is staying right here.” Jack placed the action figure back into the trunk of the car while Rhys frowned at him.

“I was going to put it back,” Rhys shot back, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Sure you were pumpkin,” Jack replied, laughing as he shut the trunk. “Come on, we’ve still got a few blocks to walk. I don’t know if the cops know what we look like or not, but we’ll be less likely to be spotted if we’re walking,” Jack said, starting to walk towards the address that Athena had given them. Rhys briefly thought about making a break for it, but knew the likelihood of him escaping alive and free were slim. Either he’d be caught, or...Rhys looked up at Jack who was now watching him carefully. Sure, he hadn’t killed the guard, but Rhys now knew where Jack was going and he was sure that the older man was aware of that. Rhys looked back up at the other man who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Rhys since he hadn’t started walking. 

“Rhys,” Jack said, a dangerous edge to his voice. Rhys looked up at him with wide eyes, swallowing before answering.

“I’m coming Jack,” he replied as he started walking after the other man. Jack stared at him for a second, then turned around and continued to walk toward Athena’s.

 

***

 

Rhys waited beside Jack as the older man knocked on the door of a very familiar apartment building. Rhys was having a hard time placing it after the day’s events, but he knew that he’d been here before. “So, how do you know this person will really help us? I mean she didn’t sound too thrilled to hear from you on the phone,” Rhys asked. Jack might know whoever this Athena was, but Rhys didn’t, and he didn’t exactly trust Jack’s judgement given their current predicament.

“Athena and I go way back kiddo. She used to work for me and owes me one for getting her out of a situation with a rival company. Plus, I introduced her to her girlfriend. Well, kinda. She was working for me when they met up,” Jack explained. Rhys was about to ask what the ‘situation’ was exactly, when he heard a lock being undone.

“Finally,” Jack muttered as the door opened. The woman had purple hair, and was scowling at Jack, but her face became curious once it lit upon Rhys. She raised a single eyebrow, turning her gaze back to Jack who was now wearing a scowl of his own. 

“Just let us in,” he said, moving to push past her. She stood steadfast as he approached, then moved aside to let them through, making it very clear that they were there because she was allowing it. Once inside, she closed the door and Jack dropped down on the couch. “Athena, Rhys. Rhysie, Athena.” Jack waved at the two. Rhys shot Jack a look, wondering why the man insisted on calling him by such nicknames even when he introduced him as ‘Rhys’ to Athena. A sound from the other side of the apartment had Jack on his feet in an instant, but Athena glared at him until he sat back down.

“Athena?” A voice called as another woman walked into the room.

“J-janey?” Rhys asked, recognizing the woman as the first person he’d given a ride to. She looked at him curiously.

“Rhys?” she asked, stopping to stand next to Athena. Both Athena and Jack had surprised expressions on their faces, the room silent until Jack broke it.

“You know them?” he asked Rhys, who shook his head.

“No, I mean not really. I gave Janey a ride this morning and we talked about restaurants…” Rhys trailed off, the situation unreal.

“Thanks for that by the way, Athena loved the place you recommended.” Janey smiled. “What’re you doing here though?” she asked, looking between the two men. Athena coughed lightly, looking slightly nervous.

“They’re my guests,” Athena answered as Janey looked at them, but then gave a shrug.

“Alright, well I’m headed off to bed. Work in the morning. Don’t be up too long,” Janey said, as she kissed Athena on the cheek, whose expression softened as a light blush crossed her face.

“Cute,” Jack piped up after Janey had left the room. If looks could kill, Jack would be dead where he stood from the look on Athena’s face.

“What do you need?” she asked. 

“Enough supplies for two, a computer, a ride to the safe house, and a place to stay for tonight,” Jack listed off as Rhys listened to the demands in shock. He thought this was the safe house? Where else were they going? 

“That’s a lot to ask for,” Athena commented, her eyebrow lifting at Jack’s request for supplies for two.

“Yeah well, it’s gonna take a lot to keep us out of Hyperion’s grasp. But we just need to stay hidden until I can figure out how to decode the info I got off Tassiter’s computer,” Jack clarified. Rhys gaped at him, hearing all of this for the first time. 

“You stole from Hyperion!? From Tassiter!?” Rhys yelled, lowering his voice as Athena’s glare reminded him that Janey was in the next room. He was dead, so dead. 

“Ugh we’ll be fine kiddo. As soon as I figure out how to decrypt this-” Jack waved a small drive around in his hand- “Tassiter will be on his way to a prison cell and I’ll finally be on top,” Jack explained, a feral grin overtaking his features. Rhys looked at him unconvinced. 

“Only for tonight,” Athena stated, rummaging in the closet for some blankets and pillows. “And you’re staying on the couch,” she added, throwing the items at the pair. Jack easily caught them, while Rhys barely managed to catch one of the blankets, the pillow falling to the ground. He looked over at Jack who had begun to settle on the couch, sighing as he realized that meant he’d be taking the floor. He threw one of the blankets on the ground, arranging his pillow next to the couch while Jack snickered at him from above.

“Comfortable down there pumpkin?” Jack asked, an amused lilt to his voice while Rhys ignored him. Rhys laid down trying to block out Jack’s laughter, aware that Athena was still in the room watching the two. “Aww don’t be so upset cupcake, you wouldn’t have fit on this couch with those long legs anyway,” Jack added, sweeping his gaze across Rhys’s body while he lay on the floor. A pillow flew across the space between them, hitting Jack in the face. Rhys’s eyes widened once he realized what he’d done, and even Athena seemed to still at the action. 

“Jack, I-” Rhys froze, squeezing his eyes shut at the sudden intake of breath from Jack, waiting for some type of impact. He opened his eyes as he realized that Jack was laughing. Rhys relaxed, and he saw Athena do the same as Jack’s laughter continued.

“You got some nerve kitten,” Jack purred, apparently amused by Rhys’s action. And kitten? That was a new one. “Still sleeping on the floor though,” he added which caused Rhys to frown. Why did Jack have to be such an ass? He saw Athena leave the room, and decided to settle down himself, grabbing back his pillow from where it had fallen. It had been a long day, and honestly Rhys was just happy to be able to get some sleep even if he was sleeping on the floor. The last thing he saw was a curious expression on Jack’s face before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finals are finally done and I'm on winter break, so hopefully I will be able to dedicate more time to writing.


	4. The Safe House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Rhys finally get to the safe house and Rhys maybe has a little too much to drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Rhys and Jack in this chapter. I wanted to get this chapter out there since I'm going on vacation and won't have much internet access, but haven't had much time to look it over so I apologize for any mistakes or typos in it.

It was still dark out when Rhys woke up. Janey had already left for work which just left Athena, Jack, and him in the apartment. He’d heard Janey leave earlier, but that wasn’t what had woken him up. He could hear arguing coming from the kitchen. Even though the participants were attempting to whisper, as if trying not to wake him, the noise had still caused him to stir. At first, Rhys wasn’t sure where he was. He knew he wasn’t at home, but couldn’t quite place where until the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. He looked over to the couch where Jack had been sleeping, only to see it empty. One of the voices got louder for a second, and Rhys could tell it was Jack’s. He and Athena must be arguing about something, which wasn’t surprising. Even though Rhys hadn’t been around the two that long it didn’t seem like Athena liked Jack very much. Rhys got up quietly, padding over to the kitchen to see what the two were yelling about so early in the morning. He started to be able to distinguish specific words the closer he got, but what he heard caused his blood to run cold.

“I didn’t kill him,” Jack snarled, barely restrained anger in his voice. Athena’s voice was like ice when she responded.

“The guard is dead Jack. This is why-” she stopped as she caught sight of Rhys, who looked like a deer in headlights. Jack turned to see what she was looking at, his anger fading once he saw Rhys. 

“T-the guard is dead?” Rhys asked, knowing that the two were talking about the Hyperion security guard. At Rhys’s words, Jack’s anger seemed to return.

“According to the frickin’ news he is! But I didn’t kill him,” Jack affirmed, addressing the last part to Athena. She looked like she didn’t believe him, but Rhys had been there. He’d scanned the guard with his ECHO-eye, and he’d been alive at the time. 

“He was alive when we left, did he die afterwards?” Rhys asked, surprising himself at the cavalier way he was talking about a man’s death. Athena shook her head.

“Reported dead at the scene,” she responded. Rhys nodded seriously.

“The guard’s injuries weren’t serious enough for him to have died so quickly. I think we’re being framed,” he concluded. It was Jack’s turn to gape at the younger man, honestly not even sure where Rhys’s nonchalant attitude had come from. Athena raised an eyebrow at him, considering what he’d said.

“If what you say is true, it is likely that someone is trying to set the two of you up,” Athena agreed. She seemed to think about something for a moment, frowning as she came to a conclusion. “I had most of the supplies sent to the safe house. I can take you there, but after that I’m done Jack.”

Jack nodded at that, looking relieved that she was still willing to help them. As Athena gathered up some supplies for the trip, Rhys turned on the TV. He wanted to know exactly what the news was saying about them, and whether they knew Jack and Rhys’s identities or not. His breath caught in his throat as he saw Yvette being interviewed by a reporter. Rhys turned up the volume, wanting to hear what she was saying.

“I mean I know he threatened Vasquez, but I didn’t think he’d actually go through with it,” she was saying as the reporter talked about the break in at Hyperion that had led to a man’s death and the department head of sales, Hugo Vasquez, being attacked. The news then cut to an audio clip. It was the day that Rhys had been passed over from his promotion. The audio was hard to hear, but subtitles on the bottom made it clear what he was saying. 

“I just can’t believe that Assquez got my promotion! He wasn’t even competent at the job he had before! I swear that guy is going to get what’s coming to him one day,” Rhys heard himself say on the TV. He winced, knowing how bad that made him look. He heard Jack come up next to him, watching the news clip.

“Shit kiddo, I didn’t know you had it in you,” he commented. 

“I was angry! But...how could Yvette think I’d honestly do that?” Rhys lamented, watching one of his best friends basically accuse him of murder and assault. And honestly, even if he had been a part of it, she would just sell him out like that? 

“That’s what happens kiddo,” Jack said, staring straight ahead at the TV while Rhys turned to study the other man. Rhys turned his attention back to the TV, noticing with some alarm that Tassiter was now on it. 

“Unfortunately, the incident that happened yesterday was caused by two disgruntled employees. The two employees killed a guard before making off with company property,” Tassiter stated. Rhys swallowed as he watched the news roll another clip. It was too far away to identify anybody, but Rhys could see himself in it. He remembered that day, and watched as the man that Rhys had seen being thrown out of the building appeared. Wait, was that Jack? He turned to Jack, only to see him staring intensely at the screen while his hands curled into fists. Tassiter’s voice could still be heard as the clip played. “Hyperion will not take this incident lightly, and the culprits will be found.” 

“Let’s go,” Athena said, walking back into the room. She was holding a small bag and waiting impatiently for them to leave the apartment. The three got into a car, much less inconspicuous than Rhys’s, with Athena in the driver seat and Rhys in the back. Jack had taken up the passenger seat and had proceeded to move his seat so far back that Rhys moved over so he was sitting behind Athena.

“Comfortable back there cupcake?” Jack asked, the grin on his face making it clear that he’d moved the seat back on purpose. Rhys proceeded to ignore him, which probably wasn’t the best strategy as Jack’s efforts to bother him only increased. His earlier angry mood seemed to have dissipated into boredom as he attempted to rope Rhys into a game. “Come on Rhysieee,” Jack said, stretching out the last part of the nickname as he pestered him again to play iSpy with him. It had been hours, and Rhys was starting to fall asleep at this point. He didn’t know how far away the safe house was, only that it was close enough to drive. He turned his head towards the window, closing his eyes as he tried to get some sleep. The previous day’s events had tired him out, and he’d only managed to get a couple hours of sleep before he’d been woken up by Athena and Jack. Athena watched the two out of the corner of her eye, as Jack reached behind to punch Rhys’s arm.

“Ow! What the hell Jack!” Rhys yelled, startled. Jack had managed to reach over and punch his real arm, and even though Rhys yelled more out of surprise than any actual injury, it still hurt.

“Punch buggy,” Jack said gleefully, happy that he was finally able to get a reaction from the other man. Seriously what was wrong with Jack? He was like a child on a long car trip. Rhys continued to glare at him, while Jack smirked. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Jack winked, but then his expression grew curious as he took in Rhys’s ECHO-eye. “Huh, you actually could do that,” Jack mused, looking straight into Rhys’s eye.

“Um, how much longer until we reach the safe house?” Rhys asked, directing his attention to Athena. She gave him a knowing look before responding.

“Not too much longer. Unfortunately, you’ll still be stuck with him,” Athena said, as Jack turned to give her a look of mock injury. Rhys went back to staring out the window, watching the buildings go by. He didn’t recognize the town that they were in, but Rhys wasn’t overly familiar with the surrounding area. 

It was a little over an hour after that when Athena told them they had arrived. The house was completely average looking, and for some reason that made Rhys feel worse. He knew the point was to blend in, it being a safe house and all, but the normality of it rubbed Rhys the wrong way. Here he was, being hunted down by the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world, on the run with someone he’d just met, and their safe house was some idealistic suburban one-story house. He followed Jack and Athena in, surprised at the homey feel the house gave off inside. He’d honestly not expected it to be so well furnished.

“The kitchen is mostly stocked, though there are only enough groceries for a couple days. I’d advise on going grocery shopping sometime soon. The safe upstairs has enough cash for a couple months, three if you’re careful. There’s some extra supplies in this bag, but anything else you’ll need to get on your own,” Athena explained, dropping the small duffle bag that she had with her. She turned to Jack, “Don’t call me again.” 

Jack nodded, and her eyes flickered over to Rhys, nodding at him before she made her way outside. Jack immediately started raiding the duffle bag, while Rhys wandered around the house. The house had a fairly large bathroom, two bedrooms (though one had been set up as a  sort of rec room) and a kitchen. His mind had been wandering as he explored the house, thinking back to what Athena had listed off. How long were they supposed to be here for? Rhys was temporarily brought out of his thoughts as he stared at the one bed located in the bedroom. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, when Jack walked up behind him.

“Looks like it’s just you and me pumpkin,” Jack breathed out, causing Rhys to stiffen in shock as he felt the other man’s breath ghosting over the back of his neck. Jack began to laugh as Rhys whirled around. 

“God, Jack what is wrong with you?” Rhys asked, trying to sound angry. He didn’t know why he got so flustered around the other man (well he knew why, but he didn’t want to admit it). Even if he thought Jack was hot, he was the reason Rhys was in this mess. Jack’s laughter seemed to die down upon seeing the blush on Rhys’s face. A grin replaced it as Rhys attempted to school his features into a glare.

“If I didn’t know any better Rhysie, I’d say you liked the idea of being alone with me,” Jack smirked.

“I just don’t appreciate being snuck up on,” Rhys shot back, still glaring at the older man. Seriously, he didn’t even know Jack. Apart from the fact that he worked at Hyperion and also got screwed over by his boss, Rhys knew nothing about him. Like for example, why did he have a safe house? The question had been bothering him ever since they’d been at Athena’s. Normal people didn’t have safe houses and shady contacts that provided them with supplies and a place to lay low. Just who was Jack? Rhys decided to ignore it for now, and instead turn his attention back to the one bed.

“So…” Rhys started, looking over at the bed. Jack’s gaze followed his and he raised an eyebrow. 

“What? Don’t want to share a bed with me kiddo?” Jack grinned. Rhys knew that the man was only doing it to make him uncomfortable, as he seemed to get a kick out of it. Rhys smiled to himself as he wondered just how far Jack was willing to take this little game. Maybe it was time to give Jack a taste of his own medicine. 

Rhys started to move forward, getting closer to Jack. He was nervous, but he tried to keep his voice even. “No, I don’t have a problem with it all,” Rhys replied, looking at Jack from under his eyelashes. His smile took on more of an edge as he realized how shocked Jack was at his response. He saw Jack swallow roughly, even as he attempted to keep his normal cocky grin in place. Before Jack could say anything however, his phone rang. Rhys frowned, feeling slightly disappointed at being interrupted. He started to walk away as Jack turned his attention to it, but could still hear some of Jack’s conversation with whoever was on the phone. 

Why was he disappointed anyway? Did he want something to happen with Jack? Sure, Rhys thought he was attractive, but he hardly knew the guy and the whole reason he was here was because Jack stole important information from Hyperion. Also, Jack had seem surprised, but he hadn’t backed down. Rhys wondered if he would have if he hadn’t received that phone call. 

“Nisha,” Jack warned, before yelling in frustration at whoever was on the phone. His voice got quieter as he moved farther back into the house. Rhys couldn’t hear what was being said anymore, but shrugged. He dropped down on the couch and switched on the TV. They were still on most of the news channels, but it didn’t seem that the police had any idea where they were, which was good. They had found Rhys’s car, but didn’t seem to have any other leads. Besides the short blurry video clip that he’d seen at Athena and Janey’s, there had been no pictures of them either. Rhys briefly thought about why both his and Jack’s employee ID photos hadn’t been released. Hyperion had to have known who’d been involved, the place had security cameras everywhere. Rhys shrugged trying not to stress out anymore than he already was, figuring he just hadn’t seen them appear yet. He started flipping through the channels, not wanting to watch the news anymore when Jack stormed into the room. Rhys heard Jack walk into the kitchen and rummage around before swearing. Rhys was curious about who Jack had been talking to on the phone that could get him so riled up, but didn’t want to ask. It’s not like they were friends, in fact Rhys was mostly here against his will, no matter what Jack said about him going voluntarily. Giving him a choice between going to jail and going with Jack wasn’t much of a choice in Rhys’s opinion.

“The hell? Athena calls this stocked?” Jack’s annoyed voice floated across the room, his head halfway in the fridge when Rhys finally turned around to see what he was mumbling about. He watched as Jack disappeared into the pantry, returning with a small bag of chips in hand. He grabbed a handful, throwing them into his mouth. Rhys tried not to laugh at the look of distaste on Jack’s face as the older man threw the bag in the garbage. “Ugh, I’m going grocery shopping.” Jack announced, already grabbing his jacket. 

“Wait, you’re going out? What if someone catches you? What am I supposed to do if you get arrested?” Rhys asked, his voice starting to get higher as he realized that while he was in this mess because of Jack, Jack was the only person that could  _ maybe  _ get him out of it. If Jack got arrested or caught by Tassiter then Rhys would be screwed.

“Relax, I mean I don’t think that we’ll be recognized this far out, but it’ll be better if I go myself until things settle down. I’ll be back soon. Don’t wait up for me cupcake,” Jack winked, throwing Rhys finger guns as he left. Rhys stared at him, not sure how to respond to that.

Rhys didn’t know how long Jack would be gone, but he decided to further explore the house while he was alone. The TV was still on in the background while Rhys poked around in the kitchen pantry. He knew Jack was out grocery shopping, but he was hungry and there had to be something to eat. Looking around in the pantry proved that there was a ton of food, despite Jack’s earlier griping. He grabbed a box of cereal, intending to just eat it out of the box when his eyes caught on the shelf of alcohol up above. After the last couple of days, he could really use a drink. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey that was closest to the front, taking it back to the couch with him. If he was stuck here on the run from the cops, then he might as well be drunk.

 

***

 

Rhys woke up, blinking at the sudden light in the room. He groggily raised his head from where he’d passed out on the couch. He was currently stretched out along it, his feet hanging off of the armrest slightly. As he tried to sit up, the room started to sway, so he gave up. He could see several bags of what looked like food on the counter from his position on the couch, but he didn’t remember them being there before. Rhys tiredly blinked his eyes awake, looking for Jack. He had to be back if he’d brought the bags in. A shove on his feet brought his attention to the end of the couch, where he tried to focus on the blurry shape of a person. Jack was standing there, looking like he’d changed into pajamas, which consisted of a bright yellow Hyperion sweater and boxers. Rhys tried not to stare, but he could feel his cheeks heating up, which he blamed on the alcohol. Jack looked so casual, and Rhys squinted in an attempt to see Jack more clearly. Wow, how much had he had to drink? He looked over to see the mostly empty bottle of whiskey sitting on the table next to the couch. 

“Told you those legs wouldn’t fit on a couch,” Jack stated, shoving Rhys’s legs off. Rhys brought his attention back to Jack, almost sliding off the couch as his legs were pushed off. Jack watched him with interest, as Rhys struggled to sit up again.

“Holy shit kiddo, are you drunk?” Jack asked, eyeing the bottle of whiskey. He picked it up, noticing how little liquid was left. 

Rhys thought about denying being drunk, but couldn’t quite form the words. Instead he just looked back at the bottle in Jack’s hand and started laughing. “Jack holding a bottle of Jack,” Rhys giggled. 

Jack stared at him for a second, before letting out a chuckle. He grinned, but the expression on his face looked tired as well. “Shit cupcake, you are wasted.” 

Rhys looked up, wrinkling his brow in confusion at the gentle tone in Jack’s voice. It was something he hadn’t heard in the past few days with Jack, and it gave Rhys pause. The alcohol was making his mind fuzzy, and it was hard to determine whether he was actually awake or not. He hoped he was awake because he decided that he liked the way Jack’s voice sounded. He liked the way almost everything sounded coming out of Jack’s mouth, now that he thought of it. Jack had a nice voice. Rhys giggled quietly to himself at the thought, making Jack’s expression match his concerned tone of voice. 

“Seriously kiddo, are you ok?” Jack asked, while Rhys looked up at him. The alcohol in his system gave him more confidence than he normally would have, and Rhys bit his lip at what he was about to do. Before he could overthink it, he pushed himself up off the couch and kissed Jack, causing the other man to stiffen slightly in response. Rhys frowned, but before he could pull away Jack held him in place, a hand on the back of his head, before slowly pulling away. Rhys opened his eyes slowly, looking into Jack’s mismatched eyes. His own eyes were wide in both want and surprise, as his alcohol-addled mind caught up to what had just happened. He had kissed Jack. And Jack had kissed him back. Rhys moved to kiss him again, only to waver slightly at the motion. Jack put out a steadying hand on Rhys’s arm, his other one snaking around Rhys’s waist in order to hold him up.

“Let’s get you to bed kiddo,” Jack sighed, smiling slightly.

“You’re going to sleep on the couch?” Rhys said, his voice full of disbelief, and disappointment at not being able to kiss Jack again. Jack’s actions the past few days didn’t exactly paint him as the kind of guy who would give up the only bed in the house. Jack snorted at that, though his usual cocky attitude was overshadowed by tiredness. Rhys looked up at him, sleep and alcohol causing his mind to be more sluggish than usual. 

“As if I would give up the bed, idiot,” Jack replied. Rhys gave him a confused stare, not quite understanding what Jack was getting at. If Jack wasn’t going to sleep on the couch and Rhys wasn’t going to sleep on the couch...oh. Jack was just staring at him, waiting for Rhys to figure it out. 

“Oh,” Rhys said quietly, trying to process what Jack had said. “ _ Oh _ ,” Rhys said, attempting to put on his flirtiest smile. Instead, all he was able to do was yawn.

“Yeah, and  _ just _ sleep cupcake. At least, for now,” Jack winked. Rhys could feel his cheeks heat up, though he wasn’t entirely sure whether it was due to the alcohol or Jack’s statement. 

“Hmmm,” Rhys hummed. “You better not snore,” Rhys said as he wobbled down the hall towards the back bedroom. He could feel Jack watching him, making sure he wasn’t going to fall. Upon reaching the room, he threw himself down on the bed, realizing just how tired he was. He started to fall asleep immediately, the last thing he heard before dropping into unconsciousness was Jack say, “Night kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! And ooh Rhys and Jack alone in a safe house together, I wonder what will happen?


	5. Nisha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor shows up at the safe house and Rhys comes to terms with the events of last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from vacation! Sorry for the longish wait, but I'm back in the states now so I can finally post the new chapter. Enjoy more of Rhys and Jack at the safe house, plus Nisha!

Rhys sleepily blinked open his eyes, the sun beating down on him. He felt warm and cozy as he reclosed his eyes. He moved towards the source of the warmth, not wanting to wake up just yet. A chuckle caused him to freeze as his eyes flew open. Jack was staring at him, his grinning face just inches from Rhys’s own. Rhys jerked back, the action causing his head to pound. Why was Jack in bed with him? What happened? He tried to remember the events of the previous night, but it was mostly a blur. Rhys vaguely remembered Jack coming back from grocery shopping, but wasn’t too clear on what happened to him after. He moved slightly, realizing that he’d fallen asleep fully clothed as well. Great, these were his only clothes. He looked back over to Jack, who was still grinning at him.

“Morning princess,” Jack greeted, while Rhys glared at him. Rhys tried to sit up, wincing slightly and holding his head as he moved. “Yeah, I’d take it easy. You were pretty wasted last night kiddo. Kept mumbling about how hot I was,” Jack stated. Rhys froze, his eyes wide as saucers.

“W-what!? I didn’t-” Jack’s laugh caused Rhys to stop, a furious blush appearing on his face. 

“I’m joking,” Jack replied causing Rhys to sigh in relief. “Oh kitten, you did much more than that.” Jack smirked. Rhys’s eyes widened at the implication. What had he done? All he could remember about last night was...oh no. He stared wide-eyed at Jack, who was grinning at him.

“I-I...oh my god,” Rhys mumbled, burying his face in his hands. He couldn’t believe that he’d kissed Jack. Rhys could feel the furious blush blossoming on his cheeks as he attempted to stare at anything but Jack.

“You’ve got some guts kiddo,” Jack laughed. “Not that I’m complaining. I wouldn’t mind a repeat of last night’s events, though admittedly with a less drunk you.” Jack’s eyes roamed over Rhys, while Rhys attempted to sit up again, trying to ignore the fierce blush that was blossoming on his cheeks. 

Rhys groaned in embarrassment, as Jack stood up and pulled on a pair of pants. This made Rhys remember that he only had the one pair of clothes and he frowned down at his rumpled work clothes. Unlike Jack, who seemed to have an entire wardrobe packed into the small duffle bag that Athena had given him, Rhys didn’t exactly prepare for the scenario that he currently found himself in. 

“Does this place have a washer and dryer?” Rhys asked, hoping that he wouldn’t have to go down to a laundromat or something, and also hoping that he could steer the conversation away from what happened last night. Jack looked at him oddly, then looked down at his clothes. 

“Uh, yeah. There should be one down the hall. Those your only clothes?” Jack asked, as if it was Rhys’s fault that he hadn’t foreseen such an event happening and had a bug out bag in the trunk of his car. Rhys glared at him, his silence being the only answer. A sweater hit him in the face, surprising him enough that he wasn’t able to catch it. Jack watched him with a raised eyebrow as Rhys picked it up off the ground. The sweater was the one Jack had been using as pajamas, and was hideously yellow with the Hyperion logo branded across the front. Rhys looked up at Jack who was now half-naked and quickly looked away, feeling the blush on his cheeks come back with a vengeance. 

“You need something to wear if you’re gonna wash your clothes,” Jack stated as if this was totally obvious. He also threw a pair of clean boxers at Rhys which he caught this time. “I mean, unless you wanna walk around the house naked, which is ya know, your choice or whatever.”

“No. I’ll take these, thank you very much.” Rhys glared at the smirk that appeared on Jack’s face at his own suggestion and gathered up the clothes in his arms before darting out of the room. Once in the laundry room, he stripped down and threw his clothes in the wash, pulling the boxers and sweater on. Rhys tried very hard not to think about them being Jack’s boxers as he poured the soap in the washing machine. 

The events of last night flooded his mind now that he was alone, and he couldn’t believe that he kissed Jack while he was drunk. Why did he do that? Jack was the reason he was literally a fugitive from the law. Also, he was stuck with him for the foreseeable future in a tiny house. He shouldn’t be messing with whatever fragile alliance they had.

As he started his laundry, Rhys wandered back into the bedroom, but it seemed that Jack had relocated to the front of the house. He decided to take a quick shower, realizing that he hadn’t taken one in the last couple of days. Once done, he pulled the borrowed clothes back on, feeling much better now that he was clean, and made his way out to the front of the house. He could smell something delicious wafting in from the kitchen, and headed towards it. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten yet either and he hoped that there was enough for him to eat too.

“Hungry kiddo?” Jack asked upon seeing Rhys enter the kitchen. His eyes lingered longer than normal on Rhys, and Rhys self-consciously picked at the sweater, avoiding the intense gaze.

“Um yeah, actually. What are you making?” Rhys asked, trying to see around Jack to see what was on the stove.

“Pancakes. Eggs are over there and the bacon should be done in a minute,” Jack answered, returning his attention back to the food at hand. Rhys stared at the all the food, wondering how Jack had made it so fast and realizing that it looked really good. He grabbed a plate from one of the cupboards and began to pile eggs onto it. Jack dropped a pancake onto it as Rhys went to grab some of the now done bacon. He settled down at the kitchen counter, munching on one of the bacon strips and thinking about how domestic this all was. Sure, he’d only known Jack for a couple days, and apparently had made out with him when he was drunk, but now he was here eating food that Jack had made while wearing Jack’s clothes. Rhys tried really hard not to think about the fuzzy feeling that gave him and instead focused on finishing his breakfast. He also briefly thought about how he should probably talk to Jack about last night’s events, but pushed that conversation to the back of his mind for later. Jack joined him at the counter, drinking what looked like the world’s blackest cup of coffee, while Rhys continued very hard to focus on his food and not Jack’s bare arms as he raised the cup to his lips.

“Hey, so kiddo listen. You need new clothes so how about we go into town once your clothes are done drying and buy you some new ones. I don’t know how long we’re going to be here, but either way, you’ll need more than one set of clothes. Hopefully, we’ll be outta here in a couple weeks. By then I should have been able to hack into the drive and clear our names, but  _ until then _ you can’t be walking around naked because you’ve got no clothes, no matter how much I might appreciate that,” Jack stated, causing Rhys to nearly choke on his pancake. He coughed, not sure how to respond, so he just chose to answer the clothes part.

“Ok, um I don’t know how much cash I have on me since I can’t really use my card, but I can probably buy a couple shirts and some new pants,” Rhys answered, causing Jack to look at him as if he was dumb. “What?” He asked, not sure why Jack was looking at him like that.

“I’m gonna give you the money dum dum,” Jack explained, rolling his eyes at Rhys’s confused expression. “What do you think all that cash in the safe that Athena mentioned, is for? It’s for shit like that.”

“But-” Rhys started before the noise of the doorknob turning caused both men to turn and stare at it. Rhys froze at the sound of the front door opening, trying to control his breathing as images of him being arrested and thrown in jail flashed through his head. Jack had gone still as well, but his expression had become annoyed and angry at the figure of the woman standing in the doorframe.

“My, my Jackie.” The figure stepped into the room revealing a gorgeous woman, with a dangerous smirk on her face. “It’s been a while.” 

The woman stepped farther into the room, closing the door behind her as Jack’s jaw tightened. He didn’t look very happy about whoever she was, but he clearly knew her. Rhys looked between the two, unsure what to do. Whoever she was, at least she wasn’t the police. His panic started to subside at that, but he was still on edge since he didn’t know who she was.

“What’re you doing here Nisha?” Jack asked, his voice tight with restrained anger. Nisha? Was this who Jack had been on the phone with the other day? He watched her smirk as she stepped closer to Jack, practically leaning into the older man. Rhys watched her, a frown on his face as she placed a hand on his chest, her other hand trailing down his back as Jack stood still. Jack was still glaring down at Nisha as she ran her hands up towards his face. Jack stopped her, grabbing her wrist. “I asked you, what’re you doing here Nisha?” 

She pouted at him, but withdrew her arm. “I saw the news Jackie boy, and I have to say, what you did to that guard was absolutely fantastic,” Nisha purred, a predatory grin on her face. 

“I didn’t kill the guard,” Jack stated, Nisha’s grin dropping into a frown.

“Shame,” she responded, looking suddenly bored. Her eyes wandered the room, lighting up upon seeing Rhys. Her grin returned as she walked over to him, her eyes raking over him with interest. 

“And who is this?” Nisha asked, leaning over the still seated man. Rhys wasn’t afraid to admit that she was extremely intimidating. He attempted to shrink into the counter, her grin making him feel like a piece of meat.

“Leave the kid alone, Nish,” Jack ordered, but she ignored him as she continued her advance towards Rhys. 

“How’d a sweet thing like you get mixed up in all this?” she asked, genuine curiosity creeping into her tone. Rhys swallowed, unsure who this woman was and how much he was supposed to reveal to her. He looked over to Jack for guidance, who just looked exasperated. A far different look than the teasing one that he had for most of the morning. 

“J-jack hired me to drive him to Hyperion,” Rhys stuttered out as Nisha raised an eyebrow.

“Like a taxi driver?” Nisha asked, her face betraying the confusion that came with thinking about why Jack would have dragged a taxi driver to the safe house with him. Rhys looked slightly annoyed, but answered her.

“No, I’m an uber driver,” Rhys muttered, then turned to Jack. “And by the way uber isn’t a getaway car service.”

“I was planning on just stealing your car if that makes you feel better,” Jack replied, humor creeping back into his voice at Rhys’s annoyed tone. “If someone had just listened to directions and stayed in the car, they wouldn’t be here.” Rhys just glared at him. Despite last night’s events, he was still a little mad at Jack.

“If I was in the car, how would you have gotten me out to steal it?” Rhys asked, folding his arms across his chest. Jack opened his mouth to answer, then closed it, his brows furrowed.

“I would have threatened you,” Jack answered finally, while Rhys narrowed his eyes at him.

“You could have threatened me anyway,” Rhys shot back. He was now genuinely curious if Jack was making this up as he went along or if Rhys really had messed up some elaborate plan. 

Nisha watched the exchange curiously. She was also interested as to why Jack had dragged this kid here with him. Jack sat in silence, seemingly unable to reply to that statement. “Plus, how is that supposed to make me feel better? You still would have taken my brand new car.” Rhys pouted, remembering his new car. Jack shrugged.

“If you’re still upset about your car, I’ll buy a new one babe,” Jack grinned. 

Nisha narrowed her eyes at Jack’s teasing attitude and the term of endearment, and gave a long look between the two men. She looked at Rhys’s clothes, recognizing Jack’s sweater and raised an eyebrow at realizing that the kid was also wearing his boxers. She clicked her tongue in disappointment, the realization hitting her. “Guess we won’t be doing anything  _ fun _ tonight, huh Jack?” Nisha huffed. “Too bad, we’ve had a lot of fun here.” Nisha’s eyes trailed around the room. Rhys stiffened at Nisha’s implications. Was she Jack’s girlfriend? The thought made Rhys feel like something cold had settled into his stomach. What if he was a homewrecker? Sure, he’d been drunk, but were her and Jack together? If they were, did it really matter? It wasn’t like he was anything to Jack anyway.

Nisha walked back over to Jack, placing a kiss on his lips. Rhys watched in slight shock, feeling as if he’d interrupted something even though Nisha had been the one to walk into the house. So, he was a homewrecker. He wasn’t sure what to do, should he leave? Go back to the bedroom? A sinking feeling hit him as he realized that he actually felt slightly jealous. What right did he have to feel anything when this woman clearly knew Jack much longer than he had. Despite the kiss that Jack and he had shared last night, Jack clearly had more history with whoever this woman was. 

Jack stepped back from her, his smile tight. “Nisha,” Jack said, his eyes warning her to back down, while his gaze flickered from her to Rhys. “You should go. Nothing’s going to happen here.”

Nisha gave him a mock pout. “You’re no fun,” she complained, but she stepped back. She knew that she’d been pressing it as soon as she’d caught sight of Rhys, but she’d be damned if she didn’t at least try. She looked between the two, seeing the unhappy frown on Rhys’s face. “Don’t mess this one up Jack,” she whispered into Jack’s ear before pulling away. “You boys take care,” Nisha winked, whisking out of the small house as quickly as she’d arrived. Rhys watched her go, a small frown on his face. Jack sighed as she left, but his teasing expression returned upon seeing Rhys’s unhappy face.

“Who was she?” Rhys asked. It wasn’t like he was jealous (he was), but he deserved to know who the strange woman who had just walked into their supposed  _ safe house _ was.

“Oh, Nisha?” Jack asked, as if Rhys could possibly be talking about anyone else. “She’s….an old friend. We were together for a while. Let me tell you kid, Nisha is a force to be reckoned with,” Jack answered, a small smile tugging at his lips as he seemed to remember something.

Rhys raised an eyebrow, so she was his ex? “What was your ex-girlfriend doing here Jack? And why did she have a  _ key  _ to the safe house?” Rhys hissed, pissed at Jack’s cavalier attitude. Jack stopped at the tone in Rhys’s voice. Even when Rhys had been yelling at him during the car chase, he hadn’t sounded quite so angry. Jack stared at the younger man in surprise, before he burst into laughter. Rhys couldn’t believe that Jack found this situation so amusing, and narrowed his eyes at the older man. Jack was nearly doubled over, hands on his knees as he laughed while Rhys glared at him.

“Holy shit, are you jealous Rhysie?” Jack asked, his laughter dying down into a suggestive smirk. Rhys felt his face heat up. “Don’t feel bad kiddo, that relationship is long over.”

“Didn’t look like it,” Rhys muttered, before returning to his original point. “And that’s not...I just want to know why she had a key!? I mean I thought the whole point of a safe house was that people couldn’t find you!?” Rhys seethed.

“Yeah, well her and I used to use this place to hook up,” Jack answered, waving his hands around like it was no big deal. Rhys gave him a disgusted look, before turning back to his previously abandoned breakfast. “Oh come on kiddo. She won’t give us up if that’s what you’re worried about,” Jack said.

Rhys refused to look at Jack, ignoring the other man as he focused his attention on his now cold food. He saw Jack leave out of the corner of his eye, only to return with his laptop. Jack settled down at the counter, focusing on his laptop for a few minutes before turning his attention to Rhys. Rhys could feel Jack’s eyes on him every so often as he attempted to eat his food, but he continued to ignore the man’s stares. He didn’t really have the right to be mad, but he couldn’t help it. He heard Jack growl in frustration at his computer, then slam his laptop shut. Rhys jumped at the sound, finally turning to look at Jack. He was startled to see Jack staring right at him, before watching the older man run a hand through his hair and walk away. Rhys blinked at him, not sure what had set him off, but happy that he could eat in peace now.


	6. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Jack go shopping to get Rhys some new clothes finally and Jack spends a little too much time in the as seen on TV section.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been awhile since I updated. I apologize, but it's been pretty crazy because I've been moving and getting ready to start at my new college. This is mostly a fun chapter since the more serious stuff will happen next chapter.

Rhys watched as Jack left the room, huffing in frustration. He looked down at himself, realizing he was still wearing Jack’s clothes and frowned. He could hear the shower running as he walked towards the laundry room in the back, checking to see if his own clothes were done. He threw them in the dryer and wandered back into the living room. Turning on the TV, he noticed that most of the news stations had already started moving on from his and Jack’s break in at Hyperion. There were a few mentions of the police still looking for them, but it had been days without a new lead. The news had already moved on to other more interesting stories, and for once Rhys was happy that the media seemed to have such a short attention span. 

The ding of the dryer caused Rhys to get up from his spot on the couch, and head towards the laundry room. He quickly pulled on his now dry clothes, heading back to his previous spot in the living room. As he stepped out of the laundry room he ran straight into Jack, who gave him a dry look as Rhys almost fell down. Jack must have just finished his shower as he was still half-naked, his shirt in one hand and his other hand on Rhys’s arm as he steadied him. Jack eyed Rhys’s clothes and then looked back up at the flustered younger man.

“You ready to go kiddo?” Jack asked, looking down at Rhys as he pulled on his shirt, seemingly forgetting about their earlier argument. Rhys gave him a confused look, unsure what Jack was talking about. “Clothes, cupcake.”

“Oh, right,” Rhys said. He still needed to go shopping. He watched as Jack started to head towards the door, only then realizing that the older man still intended to go with him. It wasn’t that he was still angry at Jack, well maybe he was, but he shouldn’t be. He had no reason to be, he was just...ok, so he was a little jealous of Nisha. 

Rhys pursed his lips, angry that Jack seemed to completely forget about their earlier dispute. Plus, they still hadn’t talked about what happened the other night, and it was eating at Rhys. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to the conversation, but the longer they went without having it, the more worried Rhys became. What if Jack had just been humoring him because he was drunk? Or what if Jack had simply been bored? Rhys worried at his lip, glancing over at the older man. Jack had been pretty much ignoring what had happened, which led him to start to think one of his theories was right. He usually talked about his relationship (if whatever Jack and he had could even be qualified as that) problems with his friends, but he hadn’t been able to find a way to safely contact them. Rhys’s frown deepened the more he thought about it, and he decided to put it off for now. He instead turned his attention back to Jack, who was already opening the door to leave.

If Jack wanted to come it’s not like he could say no, after all Jack had the money. Rhys sighed and began gathering his stuff to go, as Jack stepped outside. He wondered how they were going to get to town without a car, almost running into Jack as he stopped suddenly.

“Shit,” Jack said, upon seeing the empty driveway. Rhys looked over Jack’s shoulder, wondering what he was staring at. “Forgot we didn’t have a car,” Jack mumbled. 

“Well, how did you get to the grocery store yesterday?” Rhys asked, frowning.

“I walked.” Jack rolled his eyes at Rhys, whose frown only deepened. “It was just down the street, but it’s not like the frickin’ 7-eleven sells clothes,” Jack stated. Rhys gave him an incredulous look, now wondering what ‘food’ Jack had even brought back the other night. Rhys started to walk away, knowing that there had to be some kind of public transport system in the town. The town they were in wasn’t a large city, but it was large enough to have its own bus system. He could hear Jack calling after him, but Rhys wasn’t paying attention to the man. Sure, he had to allow Jack to come along, but he still wasn’t happy with the older man and if Jack couldn’t keep up he wasn’t going to wait for him. He ignored Jack yelling at him, as he attempted to read the map on the side of the bus station. Rhys hadn’t taken a bus in years, since college probably, but he still knew how to read a public transit map. He could feel that Jack had caught up to him, and he turned around to face him.

“What are you doing Rhys?” Jack asked, clearly not happy that he basically had to chase after the younger man. Rhys raised an eyebrow at him. Whether he should or shouldn’t be angry, he was, and he wasn’t about to make it easy for Jack.

“I’m going shopping. And since we don’t have a car…” Rhys trailed off, looking back at the bus map. Jack looked over at the map, an unhappy expression crossing his face. He continued to sigh and look unhappy as they paid and boarded the bus. 

“So, where are we going?” Rhys asked as they both settled down in some open seats near the middle of the bus. Jack raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t know, wherever? I don’t usually do this kind of thing,” Jack muttered. Rhys looked at him curiously, what the hell did that mean? Did the man not buy clothes? Rhys looked at Jack’s clothes, noticing for the first time that even though he was wearing a pretty casual outfit, that it looked expensive. Like really expensive. Like possibly tailored, expensive. Jack caught him looking, a smirk appearing on his face as he started to say something before Rhys cut him off.

“We can just check out whatever shops are downtown.” Rhys stood up from the now stopped bus. The two got off, with Jack trailing behind Rhys, a frown appearing on the older man’s face at being cut off. 

The downtown area had mostly smaller shops, with a few chain stores thrown in, along with a few restaurants and cafes. Rhys wandered into the first shop that looked like it sold clothes, looking over a few items that seemed to be his size. He pulled a few different shirts and pants off the rack and went into the dressing rooms to try them on. Jack had disappeared, off looking at something else in the store, while Rhys tried on the clothes. 

As Rhys continued to try on different outfits, he started feeling better, his previous argument with Jack mostly forgotten. He walked out of the changing room into the dressing room hallway, where a larger three panel mirror was, admiring how he looked in the pants he’d found. They looked good, and seemed to fit right, which honestly was not the easiest with his long legs, so Rhys was happy. He jumped as a low whistle came from behind him, turning quickly to glare, and possibly throw in a few choice words at whoever it was, but stopped as he saw Jack. Jack had apparently reappeared, and was now staring pointedly at Rhys’s ass. Rhys frowned, a blush already creeping up his face, and stalked back to his changing room to avoid Jack’s leering. He quickly tried on the rest of his clothes, placing them into piles depending on whether he was going to keep them or not. He looked at the pants that Jack had seen him in earlier, wavering on whether to buy them or not. They were a little pricey, but Jack’s earlier expression when he had seen Rhys in them caused Rhys to place them into the buy pile. Besides, it wasn’t his money.

Rhys grabbed the clothes he was going to buy, handing the ones he wasn't keeping to an employee, and walked back over to Jack. “Look what I found Rhysie.” Jack held up a toothbrush. It was one of those ones that played a song when you brushed your teeth. Rhys stared at him incredulously, not for the first time comparing him to an overgrown child. Seriously, a singing toothbrush? Rhys could see that there were other items in Jack’s hands, but he was almost too afraid to ask what they were. His curiosity got the best of him however, as he eyed something that looked like a large pink animal face?

“And those?” Rhys asked, pointing to the other items in Jack’s hands. Jack hid the items behind his back.

“Uh uh, it’s a surprise,” he grinned, while Rhys’s expression became wary. He hadn’t known Jack long, but whenever something unexpected happened involving him, Rhys wasn’t usually too thrilled about it. A “surprise” visit to Hyperion, was the reason he was currently a fugitive on the run.

  
  


***

 

Rhys stared in horror at the monstrosity that covered their bed. And also, since when did he start thinking of it as  _ their  _ bed? They’d only slept in it once together, but now? Now, Rhys was just going to suffer on the couch, because he was not sleeping on  _ that _ . Jack was standing next to the bed, looking entirely too pleased with himself, while looking at Rhys for his reaction. Apparently, the look of shock and disgust on Rhys’s face was exactly what Jack was hoping for, going by his loud laughter. Rhys glared at him, shooting his attention back to the bed. It was one of those as seen on TV items, that was basically a large sack that zipped over the bed to replace bedsheets. Except, where the pillow should be, was the head of a very large unicorn. Rhys inspected the bed, noticing that you had to actually physically zip yourself into it, much like a sleeping bag.

“It’s called a Zippy Sack dum dum.” Jack wheezed out, still laughing at Rhys’s dumbstruck expression. Honestly, Rhys wasn’t even sure how Jack had been able to acquire one that was large enough to fit on the bed. Jack continued to cackle loudly in the background while Rhys approached the bed. 

“ _ This  _ is not staying here Jack,” Rhys said, his tone serious. Jack slowly sobered up, his smile fading on his face as he saw Rhys’s upset expression. 

“Oh come on Rhysie, look at it. I’ve named it Butt Stallion.” Jack said, plopping down on the bed and stretching out across it.. Rhys wasn’t even sure why he was trying to fight this. Sure, the thing was downright hideous, and really Butt Stallion? Still, this was technically Jack’s house, he could do whatever he wanted with it. Rhys wasn’t going to give up without a fight though. 

“I’m serious Jack,” Rhys replied. He swore the unicorn was staring at him. Jack just gave him a look and then grinned. “I am not sleeping here with that  _ thing  _ on the bed.”

“Suit yourself babe, you’ll be back though,” Jack said as Rhys headed toward the living room with the intention of sleeping on the couch. Jack’s newest nickname for him caused him to slow down slightly, but Rhys steadfastly continued to the couch. He threw one of the decorative pillows towards the end of the couch, rearranging it before laying down on it. He would be damned before he slept on that stupid bed, even if it was way more comfortable than the couch. 

Rhys tossed and turned for a couple minutes before finding a semi-comfortable position. He closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep. He frowned, and furrowed his eyebrows before opening his eyes again and sighing. He looked at the time, noting that he’d been laying on the couch for nearly thirty minutes at this point and the only thing that had fallen asleep were his legs, since they’d been partially hanging off the couch. 

He couldn’t believe he was going to do this. He was not going to do this. 

The static pins and needles in his legs as he tried to move finally convinced him to get up. He was going to have to do this. He took a deep breath as he got up to move, knowing what Jack was going to say about this. Hopefully, the older man was already asleep and Rhys could sneak in. He did not want to deal with Jack’s teasing right now.

He stepped as lightly as possible, slowly opening the door. Jack had his back turned to him, so there was a good chance that he was asleep already. Rhys quietly crept into the bedroom, swearing under his breath as the floor squeaked under his feet. He looked down at the offending floorboard, then back up at the bed, where Jack’s grin was visible even in the near dark.

“Told you-” Jack started before being cut off by Rhys.

“Not. A. Word.” Rhys spit out as he stalked closer to the bed. 

“Come here kiddo.” Jack chuckled as Rhys slipped into the stupid unicorn bed. He turned his back to Jack, not wanting to see his smug face.

“Now see, isn’t this much more comfortable than the couch,” Jack purred, while Rhys huffed at the older man.

“I said not a word Jack.” Rhys yawned, settling down in the bed. He may have been tired, but he still wasn’t going to give Jack the satisfaction of telling him that he was right. “Good night, Jack,” Rhys said curtly, ignoring the other man’s chuckling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also by the way if you're curious about what their bed looks like, this is the unicorn zippy sack.
> 
> https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/4490535a-e196-455f-8dfc-703c1b4b7328_1.d323de13932445bd5d0049344265e670.jpeg


	7. The email

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys accidentally finds an email on Jack's computer, prompting him to take action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating again while I have time since school only gets crazier the later the semester gets. Some drama in this chapter, and mentions of threats of violence.

It had been quiet the last few days at the safe house. Jack had been mostly focused on decrypting Tassiter’s drive, and had seemed to be making significant headway despite the various security protocols. The man had been running on mostly coffee though, and Rhys hadn’t seen him sleep for the last two days.

“Goddammit!” Jack yelled as Rhys looked up sharply at the older man. He was worried about him, and also at the amount of anger that Jack was currently directing to his laptop. Rhys crept up behind Jack to take a closer look at what had frustrated Jack so much. He frowned as Jack typed something else into the computer. 

“What if you just tried this.” Rhys moved the cursor over and started typing around Jack’s arms. Jack looked at him curiously, his guarded expression turning into astonishment when Rhys opened up the drive. Jack was quick to take the laptop back, not letting Rhys see any of the information while Rhys rolled his eyes at Jack’s paranoid antics. He could see Jack start to sift through some of the information, and was about to walk away before Jack spoke up.

“Damn cupcake. What department were you in again?” Jack asked, sounding slightly impressed, but trying to hide it.

“Uh, sales and propaganda.” Rhys scratched his neck nervously. Though sales and propaganda were one of the main reasons Hyperion was so successful, they were seen as sleazy and pompous (which when judged by Hyperion standards was pretty bad). 

“Sales and propaganda?” Jack snorted. “You are being seriously underutilized kiddo.”

Rhys blinked in surprise at that. Had Jack just complimented his hacking skills?

“Uh thanks?” Rhys said. He felt slightly proud that Jack thought he was too good for his job.

“Seriously though kiddo, thanks for the assist.” Jack closed the laptop, putting the drive in his pocket. “I’ll have to sift through this information tomorrow, there’s too much on it for me to go through it all now and I am beat cupcake,” Jack added, making his way down the hallway to the bedroom. Hopefully, to actually get some sleep finally. “See you in a bit babe,” Jack yelled down the hall, winking at Rhys.

Rhys frowned at the man’s retreating figure, a furious blush overtaking his cheeks. He and Jack still hadn’t talked about the other night when Rhys had drunkenly made out with him, and he honestly didn’t know what was going on between them, if anything, though Jack’s pet names had seemingly increased. Rhys had been actively avoiding the topic, not sure how to breach it, but he felt that Jack had been avoiding it too. He had tried to subtly bring it up a few times over the last couple of days, but Jack always managed to change the subject.

Rhys wasn’t sure why, but a part of him worried that Jack didn’t want to talk about it because he considered it a mistake. He told himself that he’d be ok if that was the case, after all Rhys had been drunk and basically threw himself at the man. He couldn’t exactly blame Jack if he didn’t want anything to do with Rhys. They were thrown together by circumstance, and that was the only reason why they were there. Rhys made a noise of frustration, wishing he had someone to talk to about this. He usually talked about these kinds of things with one of his friends, but he hadn’t talked to any of them since the whole break-in at Hyperion. 

Vaughn had been the target for more than one of his rantings about his relationship problems in the past, as well as Fiona and Sasha, and he really missed them. Rhys bit his lip, wishing he could contact his friends. An idea hit him as he thought about how he could contact them without getting caught. If he could use Jack’s computer, he could hide his IP address and maybe email them, or Vaughn more specifically, since that was the only email he actually knew off the top of his head. It would be risky, but he could do it. He doubted Jack was going to let him use his computer, especially for something like trying to talk to his friends. He needed to let them know he was safe, and honestly he missed talking to them. So much had happened to him in the last few days that he had to tell them about. Rhys projected a picture of his friends on his robotic arm, one that they’d taken at some bar they’d been at. He looked between the picture and Jack’s laptop sitting on the counter. Rhys edged down the hall, peeking into the bedroom where he could see Jack passed out on the ridiculous unicorn bed. He could feel his mouth turn up slightly at the way Jack looked so peaceful. At least he was finally getting some well-needed sleep.

Rhys crept back down the hall, entering the kitchen again. He slowly opened up Jack’s computer, swallowing nervously. Jack would likely be out for a while, since he was so sleep deprived, but Rhys couldn’t be sure how much time he had exactly. He quickly booted it up, opening the email webpage. It was still logged into Jack’s email, which Rhys went to switch out of so he could log into his own, but he stopped as he saw one of the newer emails. The email address was unknown to him, but the subject line read ‘John’. Rhys opened the email, his curiosity overtaking the guilt of going through Jack’s mail. His eyes widened as he read the email.

 

**John,**

 

**You have something that doesn’t belong to you. I understand that you are upset about that little project of yours, but it was simply a misunderstanding. Just return my property and we can put this whole mess behind us. No need for anyone to know your part in this whole thing as long as you give up the drive. I’m sure we can find someone associated with this to take the fall.**

 

**-H.T.**

 

Rhys reread the email, eyes becoming frantic as he scanned the contents of the email. This couldn’t be who he thought this was from, but Jack had taken Tassiter’s drive. And was Tassiter attempting to make a deal with Jack? He looked at the email, swallowing roughly at what the email implied. The email had been read, which meant that Jack had seen it, but there wasn’t a reply. Jack couldn’t possibly be thinking of taking Tassiter up on his offer could he? Rhys looked down the hall at where the older man was sleeping. Jack wouldn’t sell him out, right? The more Rhys thought about it, the more worried he became. Jack was a Hyperion employee, one of the higher-ups probably from what Rhys had gathered. No one got that high up on the corporate ladder without stabbing a few people in the back. He stared at the computer, unsure what to do about the email. He thought of the last few days, and how nice Jack had actually been. He didn’t know what he was to Jack, but surely the other man wouldn’t sell him out to Tassiter of all people. Jack hated the man, he wouldn’t make a deal with him. Rhys sighed, closing the computer quietly. He just needed to get some sleep, think things over. Maybe he could ask Jack about it in the morning, say he saw it by accident over Jack’s shoulder one day. Depending on how Jack acted, Rhys could decide then if he was overreacting or not. 

 

***

 

Rhys opened his eyes, looking around the room. He was in the safe house, but something felt off. He looked over to the other side of the bed, noting that Jack wasn’t there. He frowned at the empty bed, looking over at the clock to see what time it was. He couldn’t quite read it, his eyes blurry from sleep, and ended up giving up with a huff. Rhys sat up, stopping as he heard voices coming from the front of the house. He walked down the hallway, freezing as he realized who it was. Both Jack and Tassiter were standing in the kitchen, laughing. Rhys’s eyes widened at the scene in front of him, not sure what was happening.

“T-tassiter, sir?” Rhys said, glancing over at Jack. How did he find them? And why wasn’t Jack freaking out?

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” Tassiter asked, slowly approaching Rhys, who looked over to Jack again for some kind of explanation. When nothing came, he turned his attention back to Tassiter, who was now standing in front of him. “Looks like we’ve caught that employee that broke into Hyperion last week. I’d like to thank you for leading us to him John. And we can discuss that project of yours back at Hyperion, after we take care of this traitor.”

Rhys gaped at that comment, staring at Jack. What was happening? Everything seemed to click into place as Rhys watched Jack shake Tassiter’s hand. The email. Jack had taken the deal.

“J-jack?” Rhys asked, not quite believing what was happening. Jack had betrayed him. Rhys’s shocked stare turned into a look of fury as Jack continued to watch him with disinterest. Not only did he take the deal with Tassiter, but he didn’t seem to even care what happened to Rhys at all. “I can’t believe this!” Rhys yelled, trying to keep the sting of tears out of his eyes. Jack’s low laugh hit Rhys like an arrow to the chest, as the man approached him.

“Oh, Rhysie. Why else did you think I kept you around?” Jack gripped Rhys’s jaw, forcing the younger man to look at him when he tried to look away. Rhys’s mismatched eyes met Jack’s own as the man began to laugh again, Rhys trying to glare at him. 

“That’s precious, kitten. You thought that I actually cared? That you  _ meant  _ something to me?” Jack chuckled darkly. “You’re just a means to an end, kiddo.”

“And now, time to meet your end,” Tassiter said, from the side while Jack pulled out a gun. 

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” Jack breathed out, a feral grin warping his features, as he shoved Rhys to his knees. Rhys looked up, staring directly into the barrel of the gun.

“Please. Please, Jack.” Rhys begged, not able to stop the tears from falling from his eyes. Jack moved the gun so it was pressed against Rhys.

“Good-bye Rhys,” Jack said, as Rhys squeezed his eyes shut.

 

***

 

Rhys woke with a start. Sweat covered him as he tried to control his breathing. It was still dark outside, and he could see the outline of Jack’s still sleeping body silhouetted next to him. He could still feel the cold gun against his skin, and see the callous disinterest in Jack’s eyes. Jack sold him out. No, Rhys shook his head to wake up more fully. It was just a dream. Rhys’s eyes wandered over to Jack, who moved slightly in his sleep. Even if it was a dream, why hadn’t Jack told him about the email? Jack couldn’t be thinking about the deal, could he? Rhys padded down the hall, one hand on the wall as he fumbled his way to the kitchen in the dark. He needed to contact his friends. Rhys opened Jack’s laptop again, looking around to make sure that Jack hadn’t woken up. He narrowed his eyes at the bright light of the computer, opening up the browser. Rhys logged into his email, typing in Vaughn’s email address. He didn’t know what Jack planned to do with him, but the fact that he hadn’t told him about the email wasn’t a good sign. Rhys thought about the small restaurant downtown. It was a local restaurant, and the only one that existed so his friends shouldn't have too much trouble finding it. His thoughts drifted back to Jack as he thought of the deal that Tassiter had offered him. Rhys glared at the computer, making up his mind. He wasn’t going to be Jack’s bargaining chip.

 

**Vaughn,**

 

**Get Fiona and Sasha and meet me at The Vault tomorrow at 8 pm. I’ll get there as soon as I can.**

 

**-Rhys**

  
Rhys quickly logged out of his email, erasing any trace on Jack’s computer that he had been on it, and closed the laptop. He knew that he was risking a lot trying to escape with his friends. Part of the reason he had even gone with Jack in the first place was because he figured his chances with Jack were better than sticking around to be arrested. But if Jack had simply taken him along to use later as some kind of leverage, than Rhys was better off on his own. Until then, he needed to pretend that nothing was amiss. He didn’t know what Jack would do if he knew that Rhys had seen the email, but he didn’t want to find out. Rhys’s mind wandered back to the time that he’d spent with Jack, and wondered if it was all some act on Jack’s part. He clamped his jaw at the dropping feeling in his stomach. All he had to do was last one more day. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?


	8. Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack goes grocery shopping, but has a surprise in store for him when he gets back to the safe house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. School has been kinda crazy, but here's this chapter, which is from Jack's POV.

Jack woke up, noticing that he was the only one in the bed. He squinted at the bright sun, looking over towards the clock, which read 12:04 pm. 

Shit, he’d slept in that late? 

He could hear the TV on in the front room, so he figured Rhys was watching something out there. Jack stretched his arms, scratching his jaw as he yawned. He quickly pulled on some clothes, walking out to the front of the house.

“Morning pumpkin, or afternoon or whatever,” Jack greeted as he spotted Rhys on the couch. He saw Rhys jump slightly and raised an eyebrow at him, but the other man simply stuttered out a greeting in reply and refused to make eye contact. So, Rhys was acting weird. Not exactly something new, but he was jumpier than usual. Jack shrugged, chalking it up to Rhys just not hearing him walk into the room. He felt his stomach growl, and he wandered into the kitchen looking for something to eat. Upon opening up several cupboards and staring into the fridge for almost a whole minute, he realized that they’d eaten up most of the food that he had bought almost a week earlier.

“Seriously, how have we eaten almost all the food already?” Jack grumbled, locking eyes with Rhys who had been watching him. Rhys quickly looked away as he realized that Jack was looking at him. What was up with the kid today? He continued to stare at Rhys, waiting for the younger man to say something.

“Do you need something or are you just going to stare at me all day?” Rhys snapped, clearly annoyed.

“Attitude, cupcake,” Jack replied, a warning edge to his voice. He wasn’t sure what was going on with the younger man, but it was beginning to annoy him. “And how about you go get the groceries, since I was so nice to go out and get them the first time,” Jack said with fake sweetness.

Rhys turned to look at him, a frown on his face. “Why am I here Jack?” Rhys asked, his voice tight with anger, completely ignoring Jack’s earlier request. Jack stared at the other man, a confused expression on his face. What the hell was the kid on about?

“Uh, I don’t know kiddo. I assume because for some godawful reason you got up early this morning and decided to watch TV on the couch?” Jack responded dryly. Rhys glared at him, clearly unhappy with Jack’s answer.

“I mean why am I in this safe house? Why did you really take me with you?” Rhys grit out, making a noise of frustration. “And don’t lie to me Jack!” 

Jack looked at Rhys, his mouth agape at the kid’s question, and then clenched his jaw shut, annoyed. “You really want to go down this road?” Jack growled out angrily, fed up with Rhys’s attitude. “Oh hoh kitten, you really want to know?” He laughed darkly. At Rhys’s silence, Jack continued. “I took you with me because I don’t trust you.”

“Oh, you don’t trust me?” Rhys said, starting to laugh. “That’s real funny coming from you!” he yelled, as Jack felt his anger rising. What had gotten the kid so riled up!? He stalked over to Rhys, whose eyes became almost comically wide as Jack approached him. He saw Rhys swallow nervously, but the younger man didn’t back down, masking his nervousness with a glare. Jack grabbed Rhys’s shirt, pulling him close as he snarled at him.

“I took you cupcake, because I thought you could be useful leverage if the cops ever caught up!” Jack yelled. Rhys’s eyes went wide, and the room fell silent. It wasn’t a complete lie. Taking Rhys with him had been a mostly a spur of the moment action, but the idea that Rhys could potentially be a hostage had crossed his mind.

“Oh,” Rhys said, his voice quieter now, as he avoided meeting Jack’s gaze. Jack let go of him, sighing as he realized just how quiet Rhys had gotten. 

Jack ran his hands through his hair in frustration, “That’s not...I didn’t mean.” Jack wasn’t sure why talking to the younger man was so difficult. He wasn’t any good at stuff like this. “It was just convenient,” Jack clarified, wincing as Rhys’s expression became angry again. He hadn’t meant it to sound like that either.

Rhys narrowed his eyes at Jack, glaring at him. “Then why did you kiss me!? Was I just convenient then too Jack!?”

Jack froze at that, caught off guard by Rhys’s accusation. He blinked in shock, while Rhys continued to glare at him. Why had he kissed Rhys? Technically Rhys had kissed him first, but he’d definitely kissed him back. Sure, the kid was cute, but it was nothing more. He barely even knew the other man, but why did he feel...guilty? 

“Rhys…” Jack said, before Rhys cut him off. Jack could see the look of careful blankness on Rhys’s face, an unfamiliar feeling in his gut at the sight. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, not sure what to say. Jack saw Rhys shift on the couch, drawing his knees up to his body.

“Can you go to the store Jack? I’m not feeling well,” Rhys said, still not looking at Jack as he attempted to steer the conversation back to Jack’s earlier request. He coughed lightly, but Jack wasn’t buying it. He knew Rhys was probably faking it, but he had been acting weird, even before the whole argument. Plus, Jack was feeling...not guilty, but not good exactly. Rhys seemed pretty upset, and if Rhys was sick, then that would explain why he had been acting so weird.

Jack sighed, “Fine, do you need anything specific?” He watched Rhys shake his head ‘no’ as he grabbed his jacket. He frowned as he exited the house, seeing Rhys lay down on the couch before he closed the door. 

He thought about Rhys as he walked to the corner store, running a hand through his hair again. Rhys was the one who had asked and insisted on knowing the real reason that Jack had brought him along, and he was the one that had brought up the first night’s events.

Upon entering the store, he grabbed a basket and started collecting random food items. He didn’t exactly know what to buy, as he usually just ate whatever junk food was in the vending machines at work. Rhys had complained about the food last time, so Jack tried to find something besides his usual snacks. Jack eyed a piece of fruit, picking it up to inspect it. He put it in the basket, letting his gaze wander around the store. There wasn’t a huge selection, with it not being a full grocery store, but it would do. Jack’s eye caught on a shelf with medicine, and his thoughts went back to Rhys. A twinge of something that was maybe guilt crept into Jack’s chest. Not that there was any reason for him to feel guilty. Jack stared at the medicine on the shelf, glaring at it as if it personally offended him, but he started grabbing an assortment of cold medicine anyway. He threw in some cough drops as he remembered Rhys coughing earlier, though whether that was real or for dramatic effect, Jack didn’t know. Why he was trying to take care of the kid, when Rhys was clearly angry at him was beyond him, but Jack sighed, throwing the bottle of cough medicine that he’d picked up into the basket.

He stood in line, bored as the one cashier rung up the person in front of him. Once he finally got up to the cashier, he started putting up the different cold medicines, realizing that he may have gone slightly overboard. There was probably more medicine than food. The cashier eyed the various medicines, and then looked back up at Jack, who was clearly not sick.

“Got a sick somebody at home?” The too cheerful cashier asked, while Jack stared at him.

“Uh yeah. My uh...” What was Rhys anyway? A friend? More? Were they even friends? If they had been Jack doubted they still were. “Uh, yeah,” Jack finished lamely. 

 

***

 

The door was open when Jack returned from shopping. He’d only been gone for maybe a couple hours, but the slightly ajar door at the safe house sent alarm into him. Sure, it was possible that Rhys had left in his slightly upset state, but he wouldn’t have left the door open. Jack dropped the groceries on the porch, reaching for one of the guns that Athena had left him.

“Rhys?” Jack asked, as he pushed the door open with one hand, the gun in his other. “Shit,” he muttered as his eyes roamed the room. There was stuff strewn everywhere, broken glass on the ground from the TV. Jack walked slowly into the room, heading to the bedroom in the back. He stilled as he saw a dark pool of liquid on the kitchen floor. 

He quickly swept the rest of the house, making sure that no one was still there, before going back to the kitchen. It was definitely blood, and with Rhys gone from the house, it sent a cold feeling of dread through him. His mind immediately went through the different scenarios that could have gone down, all of them ending up with Rhys being dragged away unconscious. This wasn’t the work of the police, so the only other explanation was that somehow Tassiter had found them. He pulled out his phone, dialing the number of someone that he only hoped would pick up. As it rang, he heard a ‘Yes?’ on the other line, and he sighed in relief.

“I need help.”

***

Jack frantically paced the destroyed safe house. He couldn’t believe that he’d been found out by Tassiter. He growled in frustration, as Nisha carefully watched him. She had driven over to the safe house as soon as she could. Jack almost never asked for help, especially not from her. 

If he was calling her, he was desperate. She’d arrived to see the safe house in shambles, and Jack wasn’t faring much better. Her eyes landed on Jack who was still angrily pacing around with his gun in his hand. “I know you’re angry, but this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Nisha stated, cleaning her own gun calmly, while still carefully keeping her eyes on Jack.

“How the fuck did they find me!” Jack yelled, knocking over one of the bags of groceries that Nisha had brought in after seeing them on the porch. Nisha eyed the contents that spilled out, the abundance of cold medicine in particular. 

“You getting a cold Jackie?” Nisha asked, picking up a bottle of cold medicine. Jack froze at the comment, looking at the bottle in her hand.

“It wasn’t for me,” Jack growled. He picked up one of the other bottles of medicine, staring at it, before throwing the bottle across the room. Nisha looked at the bottle, now lying across the room, and turned her attention back to Jack.

“They didn’t get the drive, so calm down,” Nisha ordered, unsure why Jack was in such a state in the first place.

“Rhys is missing,” Jack replied, his voice cold. His face was carefully neutral, but Nisha’s interest was piqued.

“Hmm, that’s why you’re so upset,” Nisha purred. “They took your boytoy,” she said, a gleam in her eye as she looked at Jack. He glared at her, but didn’t respond and she gave him a knowing look. Her look turned more thoughtful, “Why would they take him though? Does he know what’s on the drive?” 

“No. He hasn’t seen anything that’s on there,” Jack said, running a hand through his hair. Nisha pursed her lips at him. “Well, you better hope they don’t find that piece of information out, otherwise they’ll probably kill him.”

Jack whirled on her. “They are not going to kill him,” Jack snarled. Nisha raised a single eyebrow at him. 

“Well, if you don’t want that to happen, we need a plan,” Nisha replied, her voice hard. “So, instead of doing whatever this is,” Nisha waved her gun at Jack in a lazy circle, “how about we come up with an actual plan to save your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jack bit back, but he’d stopped pacing. Nisha rolled her eyes at him.

“Not the point cowboy. Look, not that I’m not confident in our abilities, but taking on all of Hyperion might be a bit much, even for us.”

Jack glared at her, about to say something before she interrupted him.

“I’m not saying that we leave him there. I’m just saying maybe we should call in some help,” she grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no Rhys! But don't worry, help is on the way. Hope you guys all enjoyed it!


	9. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rescue mission for Rhys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end! Just a warning, this chapter features some descriptions of violence as Rhys gets a little roughed up by Vasquez.

Rhys blinked his eyes open, his head pounding as he tried to raise it. He sucked in a deep breath as the movement caused the world to spin, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to quench the nausea that was rising up. He looked around slowly, trying to determine where he was. Rhys hissed as he tried to stand up to look at his surroundings better, stopped by his bound hands. Rhys pulled desperately at the bindings, trying to free his hands. What was happening? The last thing he remembered was getting into an argument with Jack...

 

The email.

 

Rhys’s breathing started to speed up as he remembered the email that Jack had gotten from Tassiter. Jack had turned him in. Shit, shit, shit. He pulled harder on the restraints, trying to free himself in vain. He tried to ignore the twisting feeling in his gut at the thought of Jack’s betrayal. Pushing the feeling down, he focused instead on how to get out of his current predicament. He stopped, thinking about where he was. It didn’t make sense. If Jack had turned him in, then why wasn’t he at the police station?

 

“Well, well, well.” A voice said, causing Rhys to squeeze his eyes shut, as he froze at the sound. This couldn’t be happening. He opened his eyes, only to see the one person in the world that made him hope that Tassiter himself had shown up instead. Vasquez’s oily grin leered down at Rhys, “Look who's finally awake.”

 

Rhys glared at him, trying to put every ounce of his hatred for him into his expression. Vasquez simply grinned back, something dark in his eyes.

 

“I’ve been waiting for this,” he chuckled. Rhys’s eyes narrowed in pain as Vasquez punched him in the stomach. He coughed, groaning in pain as he tried to catch his breath, taking deep slow breaths.

 

“You think you can get away with what you did? What you did to me!?” Vasquez yelled angrily, spit flying into Rhys’s face as the man  pointed to his still broken nose.

 

“That wasn’t even me, asshole!” Rhys yelled back, anger surging through him at both Jack and his current situation. He could feel the pinprick of tears at the corner of his eyes, but he blinked them away, not wanting to give Vasquez the satisfaction.

 

Vasquez sneered at him, grabbing Rhys’s face roughly, causing him to hiss in pain as he tried to wrench his head away. “Tassiter may have put this on me to fix,” Vasquez scowled, grabbing Rhys’s hair sharply as he forced the younger man to look at him, “but I’m going to enjoy this.” Rhys gasped as Vasquez slammed his head down onto his knee. “And this time, your boyfriend won’t be here to save you.”

 

Rhys gave him a confused look, his mind foggy due to the pain. Boyfriend? Did Vasquez mean Jack? Of course Jack wasn’t coming for him, he was the one that turned him in.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rhys grit out, wishing that Vasquez would stop talking. Honestly, if Tassiter was going to have him killed, why didn’t he kill him at the house? At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with Vasquez. He could feel blood start to drip down his face, the warm liquid falling onto the ground as Rhys stared at it. He shook his head, trying to will his vision to go back to normal.

 

“I  _ mean  _ that if I were you, I’d start talking,” Vasquez said, grabbing Rhys’s shirt to haul him back up again. “Now, where is the file that Jack took?” Vasquez snarled, his other hand now holding his gun.

 

Rhys looked at him, bewildered, his eyes wide as he took in the gun. If Vasquez didn’t have the drive, then...Jack hadn’t turned him in?

 

Rhys started laughing, the sound causing Vasquez to look around in slight confusion. His eyes narrowed on Rhys, as the younger man continued to laugh.

 

“You…” Rhys gasped, trying to catch his breath as another chuckle escaped him. “You what? Kidnapped me because you thought I know information about the drive?” Rhys couldn’t believe this was why he was there. First of all, Jack kept the drive on him at all times. Second, Rhys had no idea what information was even on the drive. A sickening crack echoed around the room as Vasquez slammed the gun into his face. Rhys gasped, an explosion of pain causing his vision to go black, spots of light dancing around as his eyesight started to come back. Vasquez gripped Rhys’s face again, his fingers bruising into the place where the gun had hit him.

 

“I don’t think you have much to laugh about Rhys,” Vasquez growled, as Rhys tried to squirm out of the harsh grip. He held back a sob at the pain, knowing that Vasquez would most likely take enjoyment from it. Instead, he clenched his jaw, glaring defiantly at the other man. “Though I suppose I should thank you for that little e-mail you sent. Would’ve made it a lot harder to find you without it.”

 

Rhys glared at Vasquez’s self-satisfied smirk, feeling his stomach drop at the words. So, he was right, this hadn’t been Jack. It was his fault. He pressed his lips together, angry at himself for not realizing sooner. Of course Hyperion would have been monitoring any e-mail activity of employees associated with him or Jack. He turned his anger instead at Vasquez,his head still swimming as he grit out, “I don’t know where the file is!”

 

Rhys wouldn’t admit it, but he was scared. He was telling the truth, but it didn’t seem to matter. He didn’t have the file, and he didn’t know where it was. Jack wouldn’t stay in the safe house after he realized that something had happened. He’d be gone by now.

 

Rhys felt his stomach drop at the thought, but he pushed it away. He had to figure out a way to get out of this mess. Vasquez was going to kill him. Rhys knew how these things worked, in theory anyway, and Rhys had nothing left to bargain with. The only reason they had taken him alive was because they thought he had information about the drive. Without that, he was useless to them.

 

A liability.

 

The click of a gun echoed, jerking Rhys out of his thoughts. “Well then. Guess there’s no point in keeping you alive. Shame, I would’ve liked to draw this out, but I’m a busy man.”

 

Rhys looked up, seeing the barrel of a gun shoved in his face as Vasquez grinned down at him. Rhys’s eyes went wide, his breathing becoming erratic, at the familiar sight. It wasn’t Jack though. And it wasn't a nightmare. No, this time it was real, and it was Vasquez, with his condescending smirk and cheap cologne. And honestly, he couldn’t believe Vasquez’s face was going to be the last thing that he saw. He could feel his other injuries already taking a toll on his body. He thought about how Vasquez didn’t even need to use a gun on him, he’d probably die from some internal injury anyway.

 

Rhys closed his eyes, not wanting to see Vasquez. He tried to think of anything else to occupy what were probably his last thoughts, but all his mind kept supplying him with was Jack. Jack, who was most likely long gone by now. Rhys was too tired to be angry at this point, allowing his mind to wander back to the last few days with Jack.

 

A gunshot rang out, and  Rhys instinctively flinched, only to slowly open his eyes as he didn’t register any additional pain. Is this what it felt like to die? He looked up to see Vasquez’s eyes wide, turned down to look at his own chest. His shirt, which had already been splattered with Rhys’s blood, now sported a large crimson circle that was getting bigger by the second. Rhys watched in horror as Vasquez dropped his gun, falling to the floor shortly after. Rhys tried to move away, unsure of what was happening.

 

“And that’s-” a gunshot rang out- “for making me look-” another shot- “at your stupid face.”

 

“I'm pretty sure he’s dead Jack.”

 

Rhys turned to look at the speakers, his head starting to swim again as he tried to blink the encroaching blackness away.

 

“Jack?” Rhys croaked, as the man looked down at him. He blinked again, trying to will his weird double vision to go away as he saw what appeared to be two of Jack. A flash of purple hair also caught his eye, as one of the Jacks dropped down to untie Rhys. He could feel hands holding him up as he started to fall over.

  
“Rhys, look at me. You’re going to be ok,” Jack added, but even in Rhys’s state he could feel Jack’s hands shaking. His vision started to tunnel, as the blackness rimming his the edges of his eyesight took over.


	10. Hail to the King(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys hasn't seen Jack since the man came to visit him in the hospital, but he's pretty sure that Jack is responsible for him getting rehired at Hyperion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for such a late update! With midterms and me not having my computer with me over Spring Break, I haven't had the time to really sit down and write. I hope you guys enjoy!

Rhys blinked his eyes open, taking in the white walls around him. He could hear a faint beeping sound and looked around noticing somebody sleeping in a nearby chair. He tried to sit up, gasping in pain as he fell back down on the bed, his eyes screwing up as his arms clutched at his side. He heard movement near the side of his bed, and opened his eyes. Jack was sitting in a chair with wide eyes, while Rhys looked around, frowning as he realized he was in a hospital bed. He didn’t remember much of what happened, only that Vasquez had been there and then Jack had showed up? Rhys turned to the man, intent on getting answers from him.

“Jack-” Rhys started before being cut off.

“Oh, uh, I’m not J-jack,” not Jack replied, looking down at his hands nervously. “I can go get him,” he added while Rhys stared at him in complete confusion. Rhys looked at the man more carefully, noting the light dusting of freckles and the hesitant way he held himself. The man looked like Jack, except for the freckles. He even kind of sounded like him, though his voice seemed softer, not as harsh, as Jack’s. Rhys didn’t know who this man was, but he was telling the truth. He wasn’t Jack.

“Friggin’ doctors don’t know shit,” Jack’s angry voice floated in as he stopped mid-step upon catching sight of Rhys. He walked over to Rhys, gently grabbing his face, his hands ghosting over what Rhys could only assume was a bruise, as he winced at the light touch. Jack noticed and dropped his hands.

“Shit, kiddo,” Jack breathed out. Jack turned his attention back to the other man in the room. “Why didn’t you tell me he was awake?”

“He just woke up Jack. Looked confused as hell when I told him I wasn’t you.”

Jack narrowed his eyes, then looked back at Rhys, who was in fact very confused still about who the man, who wasn’t Jack, was. “Rhysie, this is my brother Timothy.”

“Hey,” Timothy greeted, his hand held up in a small wave. Rhys responded with a ‘nice to meet you’ and then turned back to Jack.

“Ugh, I feel like I’ve been run over. What happened?” 

“You don’t remember?” Jack asked, his expression darkening. Timothy looked noticeably more uncomfortable than he had before, and volunteered to get them some food before ducking out of the hospital room.

“Not really. I remember Vasquez, but not much after,” Rhys replied, trying to remember how he got to the hospital.

“We came and rescued you is what happened after,” Nisha’s voice said as Rhys looked up to see the woman standing in the doorway. “Should’ve seen the way Jack took out those Hyperion guards. Never once slowed down. Like a true man on a mission,” she said. 

“Rhys, how’re ya feeling?” Janey asked, her and Athena following Nisha into the room. She smiled and walked over to Rhys’s bed. “Got these for ya.” She handed a card to Rhys, who took it, seeing the ‘get well soon’ on the front along with a smiling teddy bear with a bandage wrapped around his head.

“And these,” Athena said, handing him a bunch of flowers, a low blush and a smile on her face as Janey wrapped her arm around the other woman.

“Thanks guys,” Rhys said, smiling at the two. He somewhat remembered Athena being at the rescue, but the fact that both her and Janey had come to visit him at the hospital was touching.

“Well we just came to wish you well, feel better soon Rhys!” Janey waved, as her and Athena left the room after Janey gave him a quick light hug.

Rhys turned his attention back to Nisha, who was currently staring at him. “He really banged you up kid,” she added. She looked past Rhys, her lips pressing into a thin line and Rhys turned to see what she was looking at. Jack stood there, looking absolutely murderous, but he didn’t seem to be mad at Nisha. Before Rhys could ask him what was wrong, Jack stormed out of the hospital room, leaving Rhys staring after him. What was up with Jack?

 

***

Rhys gathered the rest of his items, taking his phone out of the plastic bag that the hospital had placed all of his things in. He’d been in the hospital for a couple weeks, but was finally being released after the doctor had determined that he’d be fine as long as he took it easy for the next few weeks. Rhys winced as he moved too fast, his ribs still pretty sore.

“You sure you wanna go back to work tomorrow?” Vaughn asked, giving Rhys an unsure look as he helped him grab the rest of his stuff.

“I just got my job back. I don’t want to miss my first day back,” Rhys answered. It was a near miracle that he’d gotten his job back, but he was almost sure that it was because of Jack. The other man hadn’t visited him after the first time, and Rhys would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed. He’d thought after all they’d been through that there was something there, especially with his supposed dramatic rescue, but apparently he’d been wrong. All he’d gotten was a vague text from the other man that read, “I’ll take care of it cupcake” and that had been the last he’d heard from Jack. The next thing he knew, he’d received an email from Hyperion informing him that they expected him at work the following Monday. 

“Ok bro, but just take it easy. I still can’t believe you were kidnapped!” Vaughn said, the two making their way out of the hospital.

“Yeah,” Rhys sighed. He wanted to tell Vaughn the whole story, but he wasn’t sure what was publicly known or not. Vaughn didn’t even know anything about Jack, just that he was kidnapped and falsely accused of murder. He’d asked Vaughn about Vasquez, but it seemed that no one knew what had happened to him. The police had linked the murders of the guards to him and they figured that Vasquez was on the run. Rhys kept his mouth shut on the matter, not wanting to get Jack in trouble for saving his life. 

 

***

 

Rhys looked up as he got out of the car. Vaughn had given him a ride to work that day, since it wasn’t like Rhys had his car anymore. Apparently even if he was technically not being charged with murder, the car was evidence, so it would be awhile until he got it back.

He looked up at the building, not sure whether to feel happy about being back or not. As he walked into the lobby, his eyes drifted toward where the guards had been, but everything looked pristine as usual. A new security guard stood near the entrance and the blood had long been washed away. Rhys waved at Vaughn as the two went their separate ways, and Rhys took a deep breath as he got into the elevator. None of the other employees seemed to give him much notice as he crammed himself into the corner, trying not to jostle his still bruised ribs.

As the elevator doors opened onto the floor for his department, Rhys started to feel nervous, not sure what to expect exactly from his coworkers. They must have heard about everything that had gone down. He glanced over at the office that Vasquez had occupied, surprised to feel nothing as he continued to his desk. Even if Vasquez had tried to kill him, he had expected to feel something for the man’s death, but as days passed and the shock wore off, Rhys still felt nothing. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, but he pushed Vasquez out of his head as he rounded the corner to his desk.

“Umm…” Rhys trailed off, seeing the unfamiliar person seated at his desk. It wasn’t inconceivable for Hyperion to have replaced him while he was gone, likely even, but they had hired him back...right? His badge had let him in at the door, so he wasn’t sure why there was an unfamiliar woman seated at  _ his _ desk. “Excuse me, this is my desk,” Rhys said politely. The woman looked up at him, a bored expression on their face.

“No, this is my desk. You’re Rhys right?” the woman asked, and Rhys nodded in reply. “Your desk is over there.” The stranger pointed in the direction of Vasquez’s old office, causing Rhys to frown.

“I think you’re mistaken-” Rhys started to say before someone called his name, approaching him with a sense of purpose.

“Rhys? Come with me, the CEO wishes to speak to you,” they stated, already turning around to walk back the way they came. Rhys scrambled after them to catch up, his nerves worse than before. Why did Tassiter want to speak to him? Was him getting rehired just a way to get him back in the building? A trap? Did Tassiter know that he helped Jack?

Rhys tried to push the panic-inducing thoughts out of his head as he stood in the elevator, glancing nervously over at what he assumed was Tassiter’s assistant. As the doors opened, Rhys found himself in the CEO’s office, feeling small against the large windowed backdrop looking out at the city. The view was stunning, but Rhys was too anxious to really enjoy it. The assistant backed away, leaving Rhys alone in the room. He couldn’t see Tassiter, as the chair was spun around, but he approached the desk slowly.

“Um, Mr. Tassiter, sir?” Rhys called out as he got to the desk. The chair spun around and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Call me Jack sweetcheeks,” Jack winked, sitting leisurely in the chair as he if owned the world.

“Jack? What’re you doing here?” Rhys hissed, now looking nervously from side to side. What if Tassiter found him here? Jack simply smiled.

“Well, this is my office cupcake.”

“What? You’re the CEO? But...Tassiter-”

“Had a little accident while on vacation. Or at least that’s how it’s gonna look. And once I showed the board what was on that little flash drive of his, well...let’s just say they were very eager to accommodate the new CEO, namely me,” Jack grinned. “After all, it’s not like the federal government would be very happy about their backdoor dealings.” 

Rhys didn’t know what to say. Jack was the new CEO? And he’d just admitted to pretty much offing Tassiter, which should bother Rhys...but it didn’t. He thought back to his initial reaction to finding out that Jack had a safe house, and the same question popped into his head of who exactly was Jack? He found himself looking up at Jack, not for the first time seeing a much darker side to the man. But he found that he didn’t really care.

“You like your new office pumpkin?” Jack grinned, causing Rhys to be drawn out of his thoughts. He frowned. New office? Jack rolled his eyes at Rhys’s obvious confusion. “You got a promotion kiddo. Have you even been in it yet?”

“Well you did call me up here as soon as I got into work,” Rhys stated, still surprised at the whole ‘promotion’ thing. “And shouldn’t I have been told that I’d been promoted?” Rhys raised an eyebrow while Jack continued to stare at him.

“I thought whatshername who replaced you at your old job was gonna tell you.”

Rhys thought back to the woman at his desk, or his old desk he supposed. She had said something about his desk being in Vasquez’s old office. Instead of replying to that though, another thought came into his mind, one that had been bothering him for awhile. “You haven’t contacted me at all since you left that day at the hospital.”

“Well, I’ve been busy babe. Being CEO isn’t all fun and games, though I’m sure we can get to that later if you’re feeling neglected,” Jack growled, a dark grin taking up his features. Rhys found himself smiling in response.

“And here I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” Rhys teased, but the sincere tone in his voice gave away his apprehension. After not hearing from Jack for weeks, he had assumed that the man wanted nothing more to do with him. Jack’s grin changed to a much more serious expression as he got up from his chair to walk over to Rhys. He placed his hand underneath the younger man’s chin, lifting his face up slightly so that Rhys was looking straight into his eyes.

“You’re all I want Rhysie,” Jack stated, as Rhys’s eyes widened in surprise at the genuine emotion that seemed to play along Jack’s face. He felt Jack slide his hand around to the back of his head, and he leaned in, closing his eyes as his lips met Jack’s. He felt Jack pull away slowly, his hands not leaving Rhys as the younger man opened his eyes. A grin split the new CEO’s face as a determined look entered his eyes. “You and me babe, Hyperion won’t know what hit ‘em.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who read this, and for all your kudos and wonderful comments! I don't know if there will be a second part to this story arc, since I have been pretty busy lately, but you never know. Hope you guys enjoyed the story!!


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